Could results be annulled in some districts?

It has been three days since the snap parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan concluded. The leading candidates in all 125 districts have already been announced. However, there have been ongoing complaints regarding several districts.

The Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Mazahir Panahov, recently stated that all complaints submitted to the commission would be investigated with the participation of all desired international observers and media representatives: "All issues presented as violations will be thoroughly and transparently investigated, and appropriate decisions will be made."

In previous parliamentary elections, the CEC annulled the results in four districts—80th Imishli-Beylagan, 74th Lankaran village, 35th Khatai third, and 33rd Khatai first—citing violations.

So, how are the current complaints being investigated, and could a similar situation to five years ago occur?

Shahriyar Majidzade, a candidate from the 97th Tartar-Aghdara-Goranboy electoral district, stated that on September 4, he submitted a complaint letter to the CEC: "We have documented over 50 violations with official reports, photos, and videos. We have compiled and submitted all of them."

However, Majidzade expressed little hope that the complaint would be fairly reviewed: "But the facts are clear. There is video and photo evidence supporting everything written in the complaint. I am demanding the annulment of the results in the district. We even identified violations using the webcams installed by the CEC. The videos show mass ballot stuffing. Ignoring these facts would be a blatant lie."

Yasemen Qaragoyunlu (Mahmudova), a candidate from the 42nd Sumgayit first electoral district, told Radio Liberty that she would submit her complaint to the CEC on September 4. However, she too expressed doubts about a transparent review: "Because complaints are not considered in this country. Even if we are right, they are ignored. If complaints were reviewed, the elections would be democratic. This was not an election; it was merely a process of confirming the old parliament through election games."

Qaragoyunlu will also demand the annulment of the results in her district: "We have nearly 50 reports. For example, polling station members caught putting two or sometimes more ballots in the box have been identified, and my observers and lawyers were excluded from the vote counting process and were not allowed to check voters’ ID cards. Additionally, 17 polling stations did not provide us with the protocols, and the district election commission failed to provide the final protocol. The carousel method (where individuals vote in several polling stations consecutively) was also used."

Vafa Naghi, a candidate from the 70th Neftchala electoral district, also stated that she submitted her complaint to the CEC on November 4: "We are presenting them with facts. I believe that if they do not back down in the face of these facts, it means they are admitting that they know what is happening but cannot take any action. Therefore, I think there is a 50/50 chance that it will be reviewed transparently."

According to her, violations were recorded at 16 polling stations in her district: "We have videos of these. Additionally, in some polling stations with low voter turnout, the candidate suddenly received 250-400 votes. It is 100% clear that there are suspicious issues, and we have complained about this as well."

According to the CEC’s preliminary results, the leading candidates in the 97th Tartar-Aghdara-Goranboy electoral district is Anar Mammadov, representing the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP), Hicran Huseynova from the same party in the 42nd Sumgayit first district, and Tenzile Rustamkhanli from the Civic Solidarity Party (VHP) in the 70th Neftchala district. So far, it has not been possible to get specific comments from these candidates regarding the complaints, but throughout the process, they and their representatives have not confirmed any claims of violations.

The CEC told "Turan" that all submitted complaints and appeals are investigated according to the law. The commission emphasized that these processes would be concluded no later than 20 days after the election day: "Once the investigations are completed, the CEC will make a decision. All documents received, along with the protocols of the CEC and the district election commissions (DEC), will be submitted to the Constitutional Court."

The head of the Institute for Civil Rights, Bashir Suleymanli, told Radio Liberty that complaints regarding parliamentary elections could be directly submitted to the Court of Appeals: "Later, they can appeal to the Supreme Court and, eventually, take the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). In previous experiences, there have been candidates whose complaints were upheld, and they were compensated."

However, the expert noted that the ECHR rulings have not been fully implemented: "The part of the rulings that concerns the punishment of commission members responsible for violations has not been enforced."

According to Suleymanli, a high number of complaints about violations may create opportunities to prevent them in the future: "On the other hand, results in several districts have been annulled based on such complaints in previous years. This could happen again in some districts this time. If this happens, it will not be a technical or legal decision, but a political one. However, I do not believe this will lead to significant outcomes or have a serious impact on the parliament’s operations."