Gauhar Zahid Malik
Baku
Hundreds of foreign delegations and observers have poured into Azerbaijan to observe the transparency of elections in the country scheduled for February 9, 2020.
According to reports more than a thousand international observers have already received accreditation papers to observe the early parliamentary elections process in the country. The Chairman of Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) Mazahir Panahov confirmed at an earlier CEC meeting that the international observers arrived in the country represent 55 countries and 56 organizations while number of local observers has reached more than 65,766 people.
SCO mission starts work in Azerbaijan
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Observer Mission has already began its works on the preparation and conduct of early parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan since Feb. 3, 2020. The SCO team, headed by its Deputy Secretary-General Sherali Saidamir Jonon, was also invited by the Azerbaijan Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The mission includes representatives of the legislative, executive and electoral bodies of the SCO member states, as well as officials of the SCO Secretariat.
According to a report, members of the mission will conduct observation in Baku, the settlements of the Absheron Peninsula, the cities of Sumgayit, Shirvan, as well as in the territories adjacent to them.
The mission’s work will focus on studying the readiness of polling stations, organizing pre-election campaigns, monitoring the voting process, counting votes, as well as polling those who have voted, representatives of candidates and other observers.
Meanwhile more than 60 OSCE PA representatives have also reach Azerbaijan to monitor the snap parliamentary elections on February 9, 2020.
At the invitation of the Azerbaijani authorities, OSCE PA observation mission will observe the parliamentary elections in Baku and several regions of the country.
The OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office has appointed Ukrainian MP Artur Gerasymov as Special Coordinator for the OSCE short-term observer mission and the OSCE PA delegation will be led by Albanian MP Elona Hoxha- Gjebrea.
“It seems very promising process because a lot of new young candidates are signed as candidates and actively participating in the election process, trying to present their views and vision about the future of the country. It is no doubt that the future of the country depends from today generation and their political activeness promise the bright future of the country”, noted an election candidate, Vugar Ahmadov.
Mr. Ahmadov was also quoted as saying: “The future of the country depends from the young generation and their political activeness promise the bright future of the country.” Meanwhile a big delegation of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey will also observe the early parliamentary elections to be held in Azerbaijan on February 9.
Five members of the delegation represent the Turkey-Azerbaijan inter-parliamentary friendship group, while two of the MPs represent TURKPA.
Head of the Turkey-Azerbaijan inter-parliamentary friendship group, Mr. Samil Ayrim was quoted as saying that the delegation would monitor the final preparations for the elections, as well as all processes relating to voting and announcement of the election results.
Samil Ayrim lauded the Azerbaijan’s great development path in the field of improving the election system since restoring its independence. “The whole process of elections to the Azerbaijani parliament is witnessed by fair and transparent indicators as in previous ones,” Ayrim added.
