The voter turnout was high as in other European countries. It shows that people are interested in the results,” said head of the OSCE short-term election observation mission Michel Voisin releasing the initial opinion of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on the elections in Azerbaijan.
“I welcome the high turnout, and I was happy to see so many people who were eager to cast their vote,” said Doris Barnett, the Head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) delegation.
“Looking at the facts our mission has gathered over the six weeks we have been observing the electoral process, the stark reality is that this process has fallen well short of OSCE commitments in most areas,” said Tana de Zulueta, the Head of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) long-term election observation mission. “The limitations placed on the fundamental freedoms of assembly, association, and expression, the lack of a level playing field, the allegations of intimidation all came in the lead up to an election day that our observers found to be seriously flawed.”
A high number of observers assessed the situation in polling stations on election day as negative, with significant problems coming in the opening, voting and counting procedures. They reported clear indications of ballot box stuffing in 37 polling stations, and the counting was assessed negatively in an unprecedented 58 per cent of the stations observed.
The opinion says that the Central Election Commission generally administered preparations for the election efficiently and held regular sessions open to observers and media: “Nevertheless, the formula for structuring all election commissions gives pro-government forces a de facto majority. As a result of this, opposition representatives expressed a lack of confidence in the election administration, the statement said.”
About 350 short-term and long-term observers of the OSCE ODIHR observed the elections in Azerbaijan. They visited 1143 polling stations on the election day, that is a quarter of the polling stations in the country.
The final report on the elections will be ready about eight weeks after the election process.
The OSCE PA will release its report at the meeting of the Standing Committee in Budva on 13 October.
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