Presidential party wins Azerbaijani parliamentary elections

The New Azerbaijan Presidential Party wins 68 out of 125 seats in the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan. This was reported by the CEC on the results of processing of almost all protocols, local media reported.

Another 44 mandates will go to self-nominated candidates, who hold a pro-governmental position. Twelve seats will go to representatives of small parties that also support the government. And only one seat will go to an opposition candidate, Erkin Gadirli of the Republican Alternative.

The largest opposition party, the Popular Front of Azerbaijan, boycotted the “government masquerade of falsified elections” for the seventh time. Another opposition party, Musavat, took part in the elections for the first time in 15 years and did not win a single seat. Its leader, Arif Hajili, said the party does not believe the elections are fair, but decided to participate to “activate the political atmosphere in the country”.

During the voting, Musavat recorded mass violations in the form of “carousels” - when the same voters vote at several polling stations. The Azerbaijani service of Radio Liberty also managed to videotape them. One of the “merry-go-rounders” admitted that she actually voted twice - in Baku and Sumgayit, because she was “asked at work”.

According to the Azerbaijani CEC, representatives of 50 organizations observed the parliamentary elections. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) sent the most observers, which is to publish its preliminary assessment of the elections today, September 2.

According to the CEC, the turnout was 37.3%. The parliamentary elections were the first since Azerbaijan regained control of Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing more than a hundred thousand Armenians to flee. The presidential election, which was held early in February 2024, was won by longtime incumbent Ilham Aliyev with over 92%. He has been in power for over twenty years.

Parliamentary elections were originally scheduled to be held in November 2024, but deputies, 69 of whom were from New Azerbaijan, voted to postpone them to September. The MPs motivated this by the UN climate conference COP29, which will be held in Baku in November.

During the summit, which is expected to be attended by about 80,000 foreigners, students will be transferred to distance learning, and schoolchildren will be sent on vacation, the BBC Russian Service wrote.

The current elections and the upcoming conference are being organized amid mass arrests of journalists, human rights activists and activists.

Reprinted from https://www.ekhokavkaza.com/