CEC registers 508 parliamentary candidates so far

/By AzerNews/

By Aynur Karimova

The Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan announced on September 16 that to date, some 665 persons have applied to register as candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for November 1.

CEC Chairman Mazahir Panahov said that 338 candidacies were nominated by political parties, 25 by political blocs, and two by initiative groups. Another 300 people are self-nominated.

He also noted that the CEC approved the candidacies of 508 people and signature sheets were issued.

Also, as of now, the CEC has 95 people to observe the voting process, some nine of which are representatives from various NGOs.

Preparations are already underway for this upcoming significant event in the political life of the country.

In accordance with the preparation schedule, the rules for the circulation of absentee ballots will be approved on September 17.

Also, the issuance of absentee ballots by the CEC to district election commissions is being completed.

The district election commissions issue absentee ballots 45 days before voting day, while precinct election commissions - 25 days before voting.

The process of publishing a list of polling stations, settlements, as well as precinct election commissions, addresses and phone numbers of the precinct election commissions, as well as the process of approval of rules on the preparation of voting protocols ends on the same day as well.

Absentee ballots will begin being issued to voters by the corresponding district election commissions and the precinct election commissions on September 17.

Campaigning will start on October 9 and will end on October 31 at 8:00 a.m., exactly 23 days before voting as required by law. Campaign leaflets will be placed at polling stations until October 2.

The submission of all election documents necessary for the registration of candidates to district election commissions kicked off on September 12 and will last until 18:00 October 2.

According to the schedule, election documents can be submitted by the candidate and his/her authorized representative, or the authorized representative of the political party/bloc of the candidate.

The verification of the authenticity of documentation and decisions regarding candidate eligibility will be made within seven days after receiving the documents at the district election commissions.

Registration for election monitoring should be submitted to the CEC by October 22.

To conduct transparent elections, more than 1,000 cameras are expected to be installed in polling stations in Azerbaijan’s regions and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Some 296 cameras will be installed in Baku polling stations alone.