Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan took place in ‘restrictive political and legal environment’, says EU

The early parliamentary elections, which took place in the Republic of Azerbaijan on 1 September, were held within a restrictive political and legal environment, devoid of competition, EU Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano said yesterday, citing the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission.

“Despite a voting process that was orderly and assessed to be overall efficiently run, serious irregularities and omissions of important safeguards were observed, particularly in the vote count, raising questions about the integrity of the process,” Stano said. “The OSCE/ODIHR mission further noted that the elections took place against the background of continued repression of dissenting voices.”

The European Union called on the Azerbaijani authorities to take on board and implement the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations in relation to these and previous elections. “The EU stands ready to assist in this process,” Stano added.

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