Baku/11.02.20/Turan: The United States shares the observations and concerns of the OSCE ODIHR monitoring mission that the February 9 parliamentary elections transpired in a restrictive legislative and political environment that prevented genuine competition. The elections were marked by limitations on the freedom of media and assembly. We were disappointed by significant procedural violations observed by ODIHR on Election Day, including ballot box stuffing, group voting, a disregard of reconciliation procedures, and limited transparency during vote counting.
Azerbaijan has pledged to expeditiously investigate violations in the electoral process. It is clear from ODIHR’s report that many such violations have occurred. Investigating these and implementing OSCE ODIHR’s previous and forthcoming recommendations will be critical for Azerbaijan to live up to its commitments as a participating State of the OSCE, but more importantly to the people of Azerbaijan.
We remain committed to working with the government and people of Azerbaijan in their efforts to ensure a strong, stable, democratic, and prosperous future, reads the statement. -0-
Politics
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Today, Azerbaijan celebrates Victory Day, marking its triumph in the Patriotic War of 2020. This decisive conflict culminated in the liberation of Azerbaijani territories that had been occupied by Armenia since 1992-1994.
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Lieutenant General Hikmet Mirzayev, Deputy Minister of Defense and Commander of the Azerbaijani Ground Forces, has been awarded the rank of Colonel General by a decree from the head of state.
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The fifth summit of the European Political Community (EPC) is currently taking place in the capital of Hungary, Budapest. Leaders from many countries are participating in the event. However, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is not attending the summit. Official Baku has not commented on this matter.
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It is difficult to predict the future of Azerbaijan-U.S. relations under Donald Trump, said Ali Kerimli, leader of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (PFPA), in an interview with Turan agency. "Since Trump's team has not yet been formed, it is unclear who will be appointed Secretary of State, who is responsible for foreign policy. It is also unclear what priorities Trump's team will have for the Caucasus region," Kerimli noted. At the same time, certain assumptions can be made about Trump's policy.
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