GISDI releases final report on April 11 presidential election in Azerbaijan

GISDI releases final report on April 11 presidential election in Azerbaijan
# 29 May 2018 11:34 (UTC +04:00)

The Civil Initiative for Free and Democratic Elections (GISDI), a Bulgarian NGO, which had observed the April 11, 2018 presidential election in Azerbaijan published its final report on May 22 (http://gisdi.eu/bg/GISDI_Final_Report_Azerbaijan_Early_Presidential_Elections_11_April_2018-p812).

It should be noted that on 3 April 2018, the long-term mission of the Bulgarian NGO released its interim report on pre-election situation in Azerbaijan.

The final report, consisting of 17 sections, thoroughly evaluated the presidential election held on 11 April in Azerbaijan. Based on the short-term observation conducted in 465 polling stations with 90 international observers and 2-month long-term observations, GISDI came to the following conclusion:

Results of GISDI overall observation of Republic of Azerbaijan Presidential Elections, held on 11 April 2018 show that they were conducted in accordance with the principles of free and fair democratic elections, thus expressing the free will of people and protecting their political and civil rights.

The legal electoral framework of Republic of Azerbaijan complies with most international standards for free and fair elections and reflects national context. These elections showed high efficiency of the Election Code and other related laws and regulations in practice.

Еlection managing bodies and electoral administration have made every effort to raise the level of transparency of electoral process; to set up clear and feasible requirements for candidates' nomination and registration; to educate and empower voters to exercise their voting rights. They managed to administer the campaign in full compliance with the national electoral legislation and international standards of democracy, providing all candidates with opportunities for public expression of their political platforms.

Voter lists had been updated 40 days before the e-day and during the electoral campaign. The overall process of maintenance and update of the lists was transparent and well organized.

On this election we observed an essential step forward in the whole organization and conduct of election process from the perspective of the fundamental criteria for transparency.

The counting process was positively assessed by our observers. They have not indicated any serious problems, including intervention by unauthorized people. Based on the results of observations carried out in 465 polling stations, GISDI concludes that the overall voting and counting process was transparent as no significant violations possibly affecting the outcome of the election were observed.

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THE OPERATION IS BEING PERFORMED