OSCE/ODIHR election observers take up work ahead of Azerbaijan's parliamentary vote

BAKU, 28 September 2010 - The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened an observation mission for the 7 November parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan.

The mission, headed by Ambassador Audrey Glover, was sent following an invitation by the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan. All OSCE participating States are committed to invite ODIHR to observe their elections.

The mission will assess the electoral process for its compliance with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections, as well as with domestic legislation.

"The mission is paying particular attention to observing whether there is genuine political competition where voters are able to make an informed choice between distinct alternatives competing on a level playing field, including equal opportunities to hold meetings and rallies as well as equitable access to the media," said Glover.

"We will also be looking to see to what extent the authorities have addressed previous ODIHR recommendations, particularly those from the 2008 election."

An advance team of two experts arrived on 19 September to follow the candidate registration process. The mission will also closely monitor campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant governmental bodies, the implementation of election-related legislation, the media environment, and the resolution of election-related disputes.

In addition to 16 international election experts based in Baku and 22 long-term observers in the regions, ODIHR has requested OSCE participating States to send 450 short-term observers for the monitoring of election day. On election day, short-term observers will monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation of results.

For these elections, the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission will join efforts with the delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and other parliamentary groups. The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office has appointed Wolfgang Grossruck as Special Co-ordinator to lead the OSCE short-term observer mission.

The mission, together with parliamentary partners, will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions on the day after the elections and will issue a final report about two months after the end of the electoral process.