BAKU: Voting for the presidential election in Azerbaijan has kicked off.
Polling stations have already been opened for voters starting at 8:00 (GMT+4), Mazahir Panahov, Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) said.
The CEC Secretariat’s Information Center will provide preliminary updates on the voting progress and results at 10:00, 12:00, 15:00, 17:00, and 19:00.
The crucial cutoff for candidate registration came on January 9, with seven contenders now in the race for the presidential seat.
With a total of 6,478,623 people on the voter list, voting will take place at 6,537 polling sites across the country. Over 90,000 observers have enrolled to oversee the election.
The election is taking place across the entire territory of Azerbaijan, including recently liberated territories. In these liberated territories, 26 polling stations have been constructed.
Representatives of 109 international media have arrived in Azerbaijan to cover the presidential election.
“A total of 216 individuals have received accreditation. Azerbaijani media representatives are exempt from accreditation and only need to present a document verifying their media status,” CEC chairman said.
Webcams have been installed at 1,000 polling stations, and more than 90,000 election observers have been registered, including 790 international observers.
On December 7, 2023, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on holding an extraordinary presidential election in the country on February 7, 2024.
The Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan (CEC) on December 19 approved the candidacy of Ilham Aliyev, nominated by the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP), for participation in the extraordinary presidential election. Azerbaijan has registered 7 candidates to run in the extraordinary presidential election.
Candidates for the Presidency include incumbent President Ilham Aliyev (New Azerbaijan Party), independent contenders Zahid Oruj and Fuad Aliyev, Razi Nurullayev (National Front Party), Fazil Mustafa (Great Order Party), Elshad Musayev (Great Azerbaijan Party), and Gudrat Gasanguliyev (Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party).
For the first time in the history of independent Azerbaijan, the upcoming election will span across the entire country, including the lands liberated from Armenian occupation in 2020. In the liberated territories, 26 polling stations have been established.
For Azerbaijani citizens residing abroad, 49 polling stations have been established in the embassies and consulates of 37 countries. This allows over 23,000 expatriates to participate in the voting process from various corners of the globe.
A robust media presence of 190 international entities is dedicated to observing the election, with 216 of their representatives officially registered as international observers.
