22:35, 20 October 2004

By-election for Azerbaijan parliament held with violations

34% of the voters took part in a by-election for Milli Majlis [the parliament of Azerbaijan] in three election districts, the Caucasian Knot correspondent was told in the press service of the Central Election Commission. The highest turnout, 40.89%, was registered in the 1st Nizaminsky district. The turnout in the 101st Khanlar-Dashkesansky district was a little lower - 39.56%. And only 22.63% of the voters took part in the election in the 29th Sabailsky district.

Independent and foreign observers recorded a lot of violations. In his interview with the Caucasian Knot correspondent, a representative of the US Embassy to Azerbaijan, who observed the election and asked not to mention his name, called the voting procedure "a parody of the election". "I haven't seen anything like that until now. It's a flagrant violation of all democratic values and the law," the diplomat said.

Three seats in the Azerbaijan parliament have remained vacant because deputies Shadman Gusein and Shamil Kurbanov passed away and Ali Abbasov was appointed minister of communication and information technologies.

Author: Zaur Rasulzade, CK correspondent

Source: Caucasian Knot