U.S. Department of State criticizes Azerbaijan’s elections

Azerbaijan’s parliamentary elections were peaceful, yet they do not meet international standards, Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley’s statement said.

U.S. Department of State supports the opinion of OSCE monitoring mission that elections do not correspond to democratic standards.

Among the election problems Philip Crowley mentioned unequal coverage of election campaigns of contenders in media, limitation of the right to freedom of expression and right to gatherings, imperfect process of registration of candidates. According to Crowley, international observers noticed serious violations on the election day, including ballot stuffing.

“We call on Azerbaijan’s government to focus on fair, transparent and detailed examination of election complaints. We call on Azerbaijan’s government to respect freedom of expression, gatherings and freedom to join unions,” Department of State statement said.