The National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) appealed to the international community not to recognize the results of the September 1 extraordinary Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani media reports.
The very appointment of the Parliamentary elections on September 1 was unconstitutional, since Article 98.1 of the Constitution clearly states in what cases extraordinary elections can be held. However, none of the conditions for the early elections as set forth in the Constitution were specified.
“COP-29 or any other international event cannot be the basis for calling early Parliamentary elections, nor can the President exceed his powers and call elections at any time,” the statement said.
On the other hand, the elections were held in the absence of conditions for fair political competition.
With this in mind, at the beginning of the election campaign the NCDF demanded democratization of the electoral environment and the creation of competitive opportunities. “However, the government of Ilham Aliyev ignored these demands, adhering to the tradition of prolonging its power by falsifying elections. Therefore, the National Council decided to boycott the deliberately falsified elections,” the NCDF statement noted.
Also, no steps have been taken to change the electoral law adapted to the interests of the ruling regime.
“None of the proposals put forward by the Venice Commission to improve electoral democracy over the years have been adopted.”
The authorities prevented a PACE delegation from observing the election and banned 76 assembly deputies from entering Azerbaijan.
The National Council doubted the objectivity of the results of the exit poll conducted by "Oracle Advisory Group". It is not known by whom this organization was invited and financed. The NCDF believes that the results of the exit poll conducted by “Oracle Advisory Group”, which cooperated with the authorities, were fake and adjusted to the CEC data.
The elections took place amidst the arrest and imprisonment of journalists from "Abzas Media", "Toplum TV", "Kanal 13", who had professional experience in covering elections.
Even worse, the majority of voters did not participate in the elections, while those who came to vote were involved using administrative resources.
“The National Council believes that the falsified election results do not reflect the will of the Azerbaijani people and calls on the people to actively fight for their annulment and holding new democratic elections,” the statement said.
The National Council appeals to the international community to respect the right of choice and access to universal democratic values of the Azerbaijani people, not to recognize the fake election results, and to condemn the falsification process.
