Elections to be Held in 55 Locations in Liberated Territories

The number of polling stations in Azerbaijan's liberated territories has reached 55. This was stated by the Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Mazahir Panahov, at the CEC meeting held on August 5.

There are over 6,000 polling stations in 125 constituencies across the country.

But are the polling stations established in the liberated territories too few?

The Azerbaijani government announced in 2020, after the 44-day war and last year's one-day military operation, that sovereignty had been restored across the entire country. The Karabakh conflict, which escalated in the 1980s, led to military clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan. As a result, the Azerbaijani government lost control over more than 20% of its territories. However, it was announced this February that 26 polling stations had been established in the liberated territories for the extraordinary presidential elections. Unlike presidential elections, what difficulties and problems might arise in parliamentary elections due to the distance between polling stations in certain constituencies?

Shahin Asadli, head of the Press Service of the Central Election Commission, does not think that 55 stations are too few.

Speaking to Azadliq Radio, Shahin Asadli said that people resettled under the "Great Return Program" live in the liberated territories: "Polling stations are established based on the program, and we also have citizens involved in construction, landscaping, and reconstruction work. Polling stations were established to organize their voting as well. There were 26 stations in the presidential elections, then 34, and now there are 55. Citizens living in those areas for the time specified by law will vote."

Shahin Asadli emphasized that since not all internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been relocated to those areas, there are also polling stations for IDPs in various parts of the country. CEC Chairman Mazahir Panahov said there are 574 polling stations for IDPs, with nearly 400,000 voters. Those not yet relocated will vote in the mentioned stations.

Sh. Asadli added that work is continuing rapidly to ensure that the country's polling stations are exemplary in terms of equipment, organization, and preparations: "All preparations will be completed by election day. According to the requirements of the electoral law, certain issues must be implemented at various times. These include everything from ballots to their distribution. However, intensive work is being carried out regarding the organization and equipping of polling stations."

Elkhan Shahinoglu, the chairman of the "Atlas" Research Center, who is running as a candidate from the liberated district (Aghdam village constituency No. 119) but was not registered, told Azadliq Radio that the important thing is not the number of polling stations, but the election of the right people who understand the problems of the people. However, Elkhan Shahinoglu also noted the difficulties of having polling stations far apart:

"Imagine that some of the people from Aghdam live in Goychay and Yevlakh. Yes, the majority are in Guzanli settlement, with nearly 7,000 voters. But it is not right to forget other voters. We cannot forget about the 100 people in Goychay. Of course, these problems will not exist after the restoration of the liberated territories. When I was there, I saw a lot of discontent. I don't think a deputy has much power, they can only raise issues before the government, so the people of Aghdam should be given a chance to choose for themselves."

Regarding the evaluations of organizations observing the elections, Saadat Benanyarly, a representative of the "My Vote Coalition," also believes that the number of polling stations is not too few, as they are formed based on the number of voters:

"You know that a significant portion of the IDPs have not returned to the districts, and as they return, each station is formed according to the appropriate number. Even if they increase the number of stations, what is the point if there are no residents? These matters should only be handled according to the number of residents."

Saadat Benanyarly considers the distance between the stations a technical and temporary issue: "I don't think there will be serious difficulties. In the presidential elections, this issue was somewhat easier because voters could register and vote even if they were elsewhere. But it will be slightly different in the parliamentary elections."

Mirali Huseynov, chairman of the Public Union for Learning Democracy, emphasizes that the organization of polling stations falls under the authority of the election commissions: "The main requirement of the Election Code is that polling stations are created by the relevant constituency commissions in agreement with the relevant executive authority and municipality, taking into account the necessity to create the most favorable conditions for voters and the local and other conditions. Regarding the number of voters, between 50-1500 voters can be registered at one polling station."

According to him, due to the lack of information from the liberated territories, one must rely on official figures: "This is also the case concerning these elections. Since there are no political parties, media, or civil society organizations in those areas, there is no choice but to rely on official information. Information on polling stations and voter lists is open, so I believe that the established polling stations are adequate for the current situation."

The union's chairman notes that there have always been difficulties in elections to the Milli Majlis from the liberated territories, and those difficulties remain to some extent:

"However, as there is already established experience, the organization and conduct of elections in certain electoral districts will not differ significantly from previous ones. The only change is the return of a certain number of voters to their native places, and the establishment of polling stations in those areas has solved this problem."

In his opinion, the dispersion of polling stations creates certain technical difficulties: "These include everything from clarifying voter lists and filing election complaints to delivering voting results to the district. But these are difficulties arising from objective reasons, and no one can be blamed for them."