Municipal Elections Held in Azerbaijan

Baku / 23.12.19 / Turan: Today municipal elections are held in Azerbaijan.

At 8.00, 5,049 polling stations opened in 118 constituencies. There are no municipalities on the territory of 7 districts in connection with the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan.

4,972,356 citizens with suffrage may vote.

The fight for 15,156 seats in 1,606 municipal councils is fought by 41,462 candidates. A third of the candidates are representatives of 13 political parties, including New Azerbaijan, Democratic Reforms, Great Creation, Civil Unity, the Popular Front of the United Azerbaijan Party, the National Revival Movement, the Democratic Education Party, the Social Democratic Party, the Umid (Hope) Party, the Fatherland Party, the Civil Solidarity Party, the Vahdat (Unity) Party and the Republican Party. Leading opposition parties refused to participate in the municipal elections, believing that there are no minimum conditions for a fair campaign in the country, as well as due to the lack of real powers in the municipalities.

According to the CEC, 52,636 local and 17 international observers are accredited in the elections.

At 1,000 polling stations webcams have been installed, from which there is an online broadcast.

The voting will end at 19.00. The number of seats in municipal councils ranges from 5 to 19, depending on the population of the municipality. There is no quorum in municipal elections. Candidates with the highest number of votes are considered elected.

Preliminary official results will be announced by the CEC within five days after the completion of the vote. —06D-