Azerbaijan: "ReAl" leader Ilgar Mamedov challenges CEC's refusal to register him as presidential candidate

Ilgar Mamedov, the leader of the civil movement "Republican Alternative" (ReAl), has challenged the refusal of the Azerbaijani Central Election Commission (CEC) to register him as a presidential candidate for the presidential election. Ilgar Mamedov is under arrest, and his complaint was filed by Khalid Bagirov, his advocate and authorized representative. In accordance with the law, the complaint is to be considered within three days, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Let us remind you that on September 13, the issue of registration of Ilgar Mamedov as a presidential candidate was considered by the CEC. 41,247 signatures were presented to support Ilgar Mamedov, and of them, 4982 signatures, according to the CEC's version, were invalid. Since a person is to submit at least 40,000 signatures to be registered as a presidential candidate, Ilgar Mamedov was refused to be registered.

The CEC's decision is "unlawful, biased, and politically motivated." This was stated by Natiq Djafarli, Executive Secretary of the movement "ReAl", at the press conference held at the office of the Institute of Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS).

According to his statement, the official CEC's decision notes that 4089 signatures submitted in support of the leader of the movement "ReAl" were "allegedly falsified."

"It is absurd to deprive the candidate to participate in the elections only on the basis of the 'allegations'," Natiq Djafarli has stated.