Leaders of observer missions of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) discussed preparations for early parliamentary elections scheduled for September 1 in Azerbaijan during a business meeting in Baku.
About this Oku.Az Reports with reference to the Press Service of the Executive Committee of the IEC.
“The head of the CIS observation mission, First Deputy Secretary General of the CIS Leonid Anfimov, and the head of the SCO international observation mission, Deputy Secretary General of the SCO Nuran Niyazaliyev, met in Baku on August 31. Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Belarus Igor Karpenko also took part in the meeting,” the report says.
The interlocutors discussed the activities of the CIS and SCO observation missions in the upcoming by-elections in Azerbaijan.
“The parties stressed that the election campaign was conducted in a transparent and open manner and that the necessary conditions were created for international observers to follow the parliamentary elections,” the statement said.
Anfimov told his interlocutor that the CIS observation mission includes 133 observers, 10 of whom work in Azerbaijan on a long-term basis. The head of the mission also drew the interlocutor’s attention to the main principles of work: objectivity of observation and non-interference in the electoral process.
“Traditionally, we build our work on the basis of personal observation of the mission members, information obtained on the ground as a result of communication with members of election commissions and representatives of state bodies,” Anfimov stressed.
Niyazaliyev, for his part, noted that the SCO has extensive experience in monitoring elections, including parliamentary ones. He said that the members of the mission had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the development of the election campaign in Azerbaijan.
“The elections are going very smoothly, the situation in the country is encouraging. I would highly appreciate the level of organization of the election campaign. The coordinated work of both the Central Election Commission and local election commissions plays an important role in this,” he stressed.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the progress of the propaganda campaign, the work of the electoral commissions and the preparation of polling stations for the elections.
