BAKU: Voting for the presidential election in Azerbaijan began at 8:00 (GMT+4), with seven candidates contesting, including incumbent President Ilham Aliyev. Local media reported that the Central Election Commission (CEC) Secretariat’s Information Center will provide updates on the voting progress and results.
Out of seven runners, five are from political parties and two are independent. Candidate registrations formally closed on January 9, for the major electoral event in the Central Asian country. Incumbent President Ilham Aliyev (New Azerbaijan Party), is among the candidates for the presidency in the elections.
Other are independent contenders Zahid Oruj and Fuad Aliyev, Fazil Mustafa (Great Order Party), Razi Nurullayev (National Front Party), Elshad Musayev (Great Azerbaijan Party), and Gudrat Gasanguliyev (Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party).
Azerbaijan: Polls Open in Presidential Election
There are 6,478,623 registered voters in Azerbaijan who will cast their votes across 6,537 polling stations across the country.
A total of 90,372 observers will also monitor the election process, with 790 of them representing 72 international organizations from 89 nations. For the first time in the history of Azerbaijan, the upcoming election will be held across the country, including the areas liberated from Armenian occupation in 2020. 26 polling stations have been set up in the liberated territories.
49 polling stations have been constituted in the embassies and consulates of 37 nations for Azerbaijani citizens residing abroad.
Special steps have been taken to facilitate the individuals whose names are on the voter list but are unable to attend polling stations.
