Authorities Find Replacement to ODIHR

Two pro-government NGOs in Azerbaijan will hold exit polls in the parliamentary elections on November 1 with two foreign organizations.

In the first case, this will be the League of Protection of Labor Rights, which will cooperate with the US AJF & Associates Inc.

The other NGO will be the Rights Center of Azerbaijani Youth, which will hold the exit poll with the French sociological service Opinion Way.

The decision was taken by the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan on 20 October.

Note that the above-mentioned NGOs have not been previously engaged in monitoring and assessment of elections.

As for foreign companies, AJF & Associates Inc. and Opinion Way have already shown themselves. Thus, by the results of their polls in Azerbaijan, the vast majority of the population supports the policy of President Ilham Aliyev.

Note that previously the most authoritative international organization in the field of elections - the OSCE ODIHR refused to monitor the elections in Azerbaijan due to the authorities' attempts to limit its capacity in assessing the elections. This was expressed in the refusal of Baku to receive a sufficient number of observers.

Recall that after the presidential elections in 2013 in Baku there was a scandal when pro-government forces disrupted the press conference of international observers, who reported serious violations during the voting.

 Then, authorities said they would not cooperate with the ODIHR, if the organization did not change its "biased" stance. -02B-