Ilham Aliyev’s candidacy approved to enter upcoming presidential race

The Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan registered the candidacy of Ilham Aliyev, nominated by the New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) for the April 11 presidential election, at a CEC meeting in Baku on February 27.

During the meeting it was stressed that 45,000 signatures of voters and the corresponding documents were submitted by the New Azerbaijan Party to the CEC for registration of Ilham Aliyev’s candidacy.

The authenticity of signatures and documents was verified by the working group. Electoral documents were prepared at a sufficiently high level and in accordance with the requirements of the Electoral Code.

It was noted that 42,000 of the submitted 45,000 signatures were checked. The signature verification process was suspended because those signatures were enough to register the candidate.

There are legal grounds for registration of Ilham Aliyev’s candidacy. After the vote, Ilham Aliyev’s candidacy was registered for participation in the presidential election.

Addressing the meeting, Mazahir Panahov, chairman of the CEC, stressed that all interested sides, as well as international organizations may review any document related to the presidential election in Azerbaijan. He said the election is held in a democratic and transparent manner in Azerbaijan and any side may observe the process.

So far, 15 candidates nominated for the presidential election were registered.

Meanwhile, a single voter list has been recompiled. Natig Mammadov, deputy chairman of CEC, said there are 5,192,042 people in Azerbaijan who have the right to vote.

He noted that it was decided to clarify, compile, approve and publicize the lists of permanent voters until March 3.

As for February 27, number of those wishing to observe the presidential election in Azerbaijan has reached 168, according to the CEC. Thirty-six observers are willing to observe the election by personal initiative, 132 others are nominated by non-governmental organization (NGOs).

All appeals received positive response.

The presidential election in Azerbaijan, the largest South Caucasus state on the Caspian shore, is to be held on April 11, according to an order signed on February 5 by the country's President Ilham Aliyev. Pre-election campaign in Azerbaijan will begin on March 19 and end on April 10 at 08:00.