US calls for "free and transparent" presidential election

Washington called Monday for free and transparent presidential election in Azerbaijan ahead of the voting day, and urged for avoidance of violence.

"We continue to urge a free, fair, and transparent process leading up to and on election day," Marie Harf, State Department Deputy Spokesperson said in a daily press briefing, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

The US "encourages the peaceful participation of all people in Azerbaijan in the election process, and urges restraint and avoidance of violence or provocations by all before, during, and after election day."

"We also urge the authorities to protect the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly, and association," she added.

Like other friends of Azerbaijan in the international community, the US was "troubled by an attack on journalists, a group of journalists, on October 4th."

After the election, Washington will be issuing a statement on its assessment of the electoral process. "So I think we'll probably have that sometime later this week," she said.

In the meantime, it wasn't immediately clear whether the US will have observers on the ground.

"I can find out. I don't know the answer to that," Ms. Harf told to the journalists.

When asked whether it was Washington's assessment that the government is properly guaranteeing the freedoms, Ms. Harf sited a couple reports on this issue.

"I think one came out from the OSCE just recently about some of the issues involved with human rights in this election.. I think that report objectively reflected the positive and negative aspects of the campaign period. There have been some of each." 

"So we continue to urge the authorities to make sure going forward that they protect these fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly, and association," she emphasized. -0-