Is there a sense that an election process is underway?

Less than two days remain until the early parliamentary elections. Today is the last day for campaigning and promotion.

Is there a sense that an electoral process is taking place in the country?

These and other questions are addressed by the Chairman of the Institute for Civil Rights, Bashir Suleymanli, in the program "Difficult Question."

According to him, from the very beginning, when the early elections were announced, individuals and parties who were not prepared for the early elections and who lacked the opportunity to participate started expressing their protests.

Suleymanli believes that the current early parliamentary elections are significantly different from the early parliamentary elections of 2020.

"They differ both in appearance, in the level of participation, and in the violations observed. In 2020, the level of activity was higher; new candidates participated in the elections, new political groups consisting of young people were formed, and there were many observers. There is no such activity in these elections," he asserts.

According to him, many candidates in the current elections are participating formally—just to create an appearance of pluralism and competition. Electoral procedures such as registration, collecting signatures, etc., are also being carried out very sluggishly, creating an atmosphere where many people are not even aware that elections are taking place in the country.

The expert suggests that the authorities are deliberately suppressing the electoral activity of citizens to avoid "hype" and to shift the process into a calmer, more controlled direction.

"This is confirmed by the nomination of formal candidates and the pressure exerted during the nomination and registration process on 'outsider' candidates to make them withdraw from the elections. The two largest organizations engaged in election monitoring have been disbanded, and their leaders are in prison. Many representatives of independent media, as well as public activists, are imprisoned, and many have emigrated. All of this suppresses electoral activity," says Suleymanli.