OSCE OBSERVERS: AZERBAIJAN NEEDS TO DO MUCH MORE TO MAKE PROGRESS IN DEVELOPING A TRULY PLURALIST DEMOCRACY
PanARMENIAN.Net
November 8, 2010 – 19:28 AMT 15:28 GMT
Loyalists of President Ilham Aliyev swept the board in the November
7 parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, amid allegations of serious
violations.
The Central Election Commission said that with 90 percent of the vote
counted, Aliyev’s Yeni Azerbaycan (New Azerbaijan) Party increased
its share in the 125-seat parliament to more than 70 seats.
Loyal candidates appeared to have taken all the rest of the seats.
The Central Election Commission, the ruling party, and election
monitors from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) declared
the vote free and fair.
But Western observers said that the elections, though “peaceful” and
with opposition participation, were marred by “serious violations. The
monitors, led by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE), said that “despite all the efforts made, the country
needs to do much more to make progress in developing a truly pluralist
democracy”, FRL/RE reported.
From: A. Papazian