10 February 2020, 23:20
OSCE casts doubt on election outcomes in Azerbaijan
Violations at vote tabulation and facts of pressure on observers are casting doubt on the honesty of the parliamentary elections held in Azerbaijan, the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) has stated.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Azerbaijan had announced the victory of the ruling "Eni Azerbaijan" Party at the February 9 parliamentary elections. The voting was held in an atmosphere of "mass falsification and flagrant lawlessness," the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) of Azerbaijan has stated. The oppositional "Musavat" Party has demanded to hold new elections.
The leaders of a number of NGOs have stated that during the voting, ballot stuffing (throws-in), the so-called "carousels", observers' non-admission to polling stations and other violations were registered, which prevented to establish the true expression of voters' will.
"Because of the absence of real political discussions, despite the large number of candidates, voters were not given a chance to make their meaningful choices," the OSCE's website has stated.
The OSCE mission has registered facts of pressure on voters during the elections, said Arthur Gerasimov, the coordinator of the OSCE short-term observation mission.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 10, 2020 at 04:28 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
