To date, the nominations of a total 17 candidates for the presidency have been approved, Chairman of Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) Mazahir Panahov told journalists.
He mentioned that seven of the approved candidates have submitted their signature sheets to the CEC.
“The presidential candidacies of three individuals have already been registered. Upon completion of the verification process for the documents submitted by the remaining four candidates, the issue of their registration will also be put onto the agenda,” Mazahir Panahov added.
There are more than 6 million 300 thousand voters in Azerbaijan, Rovzat Gasimov, the deputy chairman of the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan told journalists, APA reports.
"We hope that provided opportunities for verifying voter information will further increase the number of the voters. Thus, we will have voter lists that are close to perfect, if not as perfect as we would like", he noted.
Azerbaijan's opposition forces are boycotting the elections, claiming that their results have already been determined. Human rights activists draw attention to the fact that the nominated candidates have direct or indirect ties with the authorities, and their large number aims to create the illusion of competitive elections.