We have witnessed a historic moment for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan during these first presidential elections held throughout the internationally recognized territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan since the restoration of independence – Artur Gerasimov.
Co-chairman of the “European Solidarity” faction, special coordinator, and leader of the OSCE observer mission Artur Gerasimov told a press conference in Baku about the conclusions of the mission regarding the elections to the President of Azerbaijan.
“It is clear that the theme of the restoration of sovereignty dominated the pre-election discourse, overshadowing the discussion of important socio-economic and human rights issues. Unfortunately, previous recommendations to bring the legislative framework closer to international standards of democratic elections remained unimplemented. Several restrictions in law and practice continue to exist,” Artur Gerasimov emphasized.
The international mission to observe the early presidential elections in Azerbaijan consisted of 335 observers from 42 countries, including 79 from the OSCE PA. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine Artur Gerasimov was appointed head of the mission of international observers by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta, Yen Borg, who currently chairs the OSCE.