Early Presidential Election, 11 April 2018

Following an official invitation from the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, ODIHR has deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) for the 11 April early presidential election.

Long-term observation

The ODIHR EOM, headed by Corien Jonker, consists of 10 international experts based in Baku. In addition, ODIHR has requested OSCE participating States to second 30 long-term observers who will be deployed throughout the country from 15 March 2018.

The ODIHR EOM will assess the early presidential election for its compliance with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation. Observers will closely monitor candidate registration, campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant governmental bodies, election-related legislation and its implementation, the media environment, and the resolution of election-related disputes.

Election day

ODIHR has requested 280 short-term observers to be deployed immediately prior to the 11 April election. The short-term observers will be deployed throughout the country in multinational teams of two to monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation of results.

The day after the election, ODIHR, together with its partners, will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be issued approximately eight weeks after the end of the observation mission.

International Election Observation Mission press conference, 12 April 2018, Baku

Co-operation with Other Partners

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe are planning to deploy observer delegations for the election.

Previous elections

ODIHR has observed nine elections since 1995, most recently the 2013 presidential election.