BAKU, 8 November 2010 – Yesterday’s parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan were characterized by a peaceful atmosphere and all opposition parties participated in the political process, but the conduct of these elections overall was not sufficient to constitute meaningful progress in the democratic development of the country, international observers said in a statement issued today (attached).
BAKU, 8 November 2010 – Yesterday’s parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan were characterized by a peaceful atmosphere and all opposition parties participated in the political process, but the conduct of these elections overall was not sufficient to constitute meaningful progress in the democratic development of the country, international observers said in a statement issued today (attached).
The observers noted that the Central Election Commission overall administered the technical aspects of the electoral process well. But limitations of media freedom and freedom of assembly, and a deficient candidate registration process further weakened the opposition and made vibrant political discourse almost impossible. This and a restricted competitive environment created an uneven playing field for candidates, making it difficult for voters to make an informed choice. On the positive side, voters had the opportunity to check the centralized voter register and request correction or inclusion, and the CEC conducted a voter education campaign, including in the media. Voting on election day, was assessed positively in almost 90 per cent of the polling stations visited, while serious problems were noted in 10 per cent. Counting deteriorated with almost a third of polling stations observed rated bad or very bad, with worrying problems like ballot box stuffing noted in a number of places.
Source: http://www.osce.org