The Ombudsman of Azerbaijan: Elections are held transparently and in accordance with international standards

Sabina Aliyeva, the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan, made a statement to the media in relation to the observations conducted during the early presidential elections held on the 7th February.

The Ombudsman said in the statement that, during the elections, observations were conducted throughout the country, including in the newly established polling stations in the liberated territories. It was noted that in 26 new polling stations established in these areas, the necessary conditions as provided by legislation for the exercise of citizens' voting rights were observed.

It is said that based on positive experience from previous years, during the early presidential elections, the Ombudsman, along with 72 employees of the Ombudsman institution and the Ombudsman Office of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in total, as observers, independently monitored elections in a total of 115 election constituencies with 885 polling stations across the country, including Baku and other 41 cities and regions of our country, as well as the liberated territories and the autonomous republic. In addition, independent observations were carried out in the election stations established in the Training and Education Center of the Azerbaijan Army, and the Military Institute named after Heydar Aliyev, and 16 penitentiary institutions.

It was indicated in the statement that during the observations, the Ombudsman directly met with both members of the precinct election commissions, observers, and voters, learning their opinions on the voting process. There were no cases of interference by state institutions, including representatives of the executive authority and police officers.

S. Aliyeva noted that observers representing political parties, public associations, and non-governmental organizations, as well as independent and impartial observers, participated in this  process in an orderly manner and with mutual respect for each other and fulfilled their responsibilities within their authority. She said that in order to ensure exercising this right, conditions were created for voters with disabilities. On the election day, there were no complaints or appeals received by the Ombudsman regarding violations of voting rights.

Relying on the results of the observations, the Ombudsman reported that the presidential elections were conducted with high public activity, in a democratic, free, transparent, fair, orderly manner, and in accordance with electoral legislation and international standards.

While briefing the activities implemented on the eve of the forthcoming early presidential elections, the Ombudsman said that the Ombudsman Office, jointly with the Central Election Commission, organized a series of public-awareness events on "Ensuring Citizens' Voting Rights" in Baku, Ganja, Sheki, Masalli, Guba, and Nakhchivan. S. Aliyeva also stated that starting from the day of the official announcement of the decision on the appointment of elections, observations were conducted in open and closed locations designated for election propaganda, and the state of ensuring citizens' electoral rights and compliance with electoral legislation were evaluated.

It is noteworthy that the presidential elections, which were of great importance for our country, were conducted for the first time across the entire territory of our sovereign state, including our liberated territories.

In conclusion, the Ombudsman noted that during the early presidential elections, the right to vote, which is the fundamental right of citizens, was ensured at a high level.