The snap parliamentary elections are being held in Azerbaijan. Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Mazahir Panahov has held a press conference in connection with the elections.
The CEC chairman said that all the polling stations are fully ready for the voting process. He noted that the CEC took all the necessary measures after the elections were declared. The CEC and country election commissions had taken all the steps in accordance with the requirements of the Election Code.
Mazahir Panahov highlighted that the parliamentary elections will be held at 5, 573 polling elections on 125 constituencies. 10 out of 125 constituencies are IDP constituencies. 340, 689 IDPs will be able to vote at 523 polling stations. Web cameras have been installed at 1, 000 out of 5, 573 polling stations. 5 million 387 thousand 600 ballots have been distributed to the polling stations.
The chairman emphasized that 5 million 329 thousand 460 will be able to use the voting right in the February 9 parliamentary elections.
The CEC chairman noted that 1, 314 candidates will compete in the parliamentary elections. 246 out of the registered candidates are from political parties, 1, 057 are independent, and the 11 candidates have been nominated by initiative groups.
Overall, 305 candidates have party affiliation. 79% of the registered candidates are men and 21% women. A total of 2, 431 people have applied to participate in the parliamentary elections. So far, 321 out of 1, 637 people have withdrawn their candidacies, and the candidacy of 2 people has been abolished.
Mazahir Panahov said that 883 international observers have been accredited in regard to the parliamentary elections. The international observers represent 59 international organizations and 58 countries. The number of the registered local observers is 77, 790. 35, 152 out of them are members of political parties and 2, 737 NGO representatives.
According to the chairman, 199 representatives of 132 international mass media will be able to follow the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan. These mass media outlets envisage 47 countries. Media outlets of the U.S., Mexico, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Turkey, Russia and other countries are represented, International journalists have the same rights as local media representatives in the parliamentary elections. They will be able to enter polling stations without asking for permission from anybody like local journalists.
The CEC chairman underlined that 25 out of 47 applications made to the Central Election Committee were connected with the registration of candidacy. The candidacy of 9 people has been restored; the candidacy of 2 people has been abolished due to dual citizenship. It was impossible to register the candidacy of 5 citizens due to their previous criminal records. The candidacy of 13 people has not been registered, as they have provided false information on their property. The parliamentary elections kicked off at 08:00 and will last until 19:00.