"The municipal elections held in Azerbaijan on December 23rd ended at 19:00, and all polling stations were closed. The elections were held with the participation of nearly 42, 000 candidates for 15, 156 seats in 1, 606 municipalities. All the polling stations across the country were opened at 08:00. Throughout the day, the Central Election Commission (CEC) informed the public 5 times. At the end of the day, it became known that 32.72% of the voters had participated in the elections,” said chairman of Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission Mazahir Panahov at a press conference on the preliminary results of the municipal elections.
It was noted that during the day, media outlets delivered the voting process to the public. Overall, the voting at all polling stations went well. Some information was circulated on social media regarding some unpleasant events. However, the CEC received just one complaint. That complaint was forwarded to the constituency commission, as in accordance with the requirements of the Election Code, a complaint regarding events must initially be sent to a constituency. If a plaintiff is dissatisfied with the decision of the constituency, then, they can apply to the Central Election Commission. Therefore, we have made our decision in accordance with the Election Code requirements. Let me also note that throughout the day, the CEC did not receive an official complaint. Nevertheless, the CEC members have already started investigating the videos disseminated on social media.
The CEC chairman emphasized that overall, the elections were held peacefully; all the necessary conditions were created for voters to express their will, and they properly used this opportunity. At the end, the elections on 1, 606 municipalities took place. Currently, the information from 4, 556 municipalities has entered the CEC data base. In turn, it means 90.24% of all the polling stations across the country. Thus, the information on 1, 475 municipalities is already on the CEC’s data base. It is 91.84% of all the municipalities across the country. So, we can say that all members of 1, 375 municipalities are already known according to the preliminary results. It is 85.62% of all the municipalities across the country. According to the preliminary results, the number of leading candidates in the fully formed municipalities is 12, 930. Thus, it makes 85.31% of 15, 156 municipality members to be elected. Throughout the day, the CEC’s hot line 115 received 220 applications. 90 of them were related to the voters list and the addresses of polling stations. 130 requests were connected with legal issues and general information.
Mazahir Panahov said that web cameras had been set up at 1, 000 polling stations or nearly 20%. During the day, these web cameras were used 198069 times. 130218 of them or 65.7% were made internally, and 67851 or 34.3% externally. This is a very impressive number. It indicates enough attention to the elections. Moreover, 282627 people used the website of the Central Election Commission. It also shows the interest of the public in the elections.
At the end, questions were answered.