On Thursday 12 April, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS) called on Azerbaijan to remedy the shortcomings observed particularly during the early presidential elections that took place the previous day.
These elections saw the unsurprising re-election of Ilham Aliev for a fourth mandate, with 86.1% of the votes.
"The European Union expects the Azerbaijani authorities to take on board and implement the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations in relation to these and previous elections", the EEAS spokesperson stated, adding that the EU stands ready to assist in this process.
Picking up on the results of the OSCE electoral observation mission, the EEAS spokesperson said that the elections had taken place "within a restrictive political environment and under laws that curtail fundamental rights and freedoms, including freedom of assembly, expression and media". On the day of elections "the observers reported widespread disregard for mandatory procedures, a lack of transparency and numerous serious irregularities", the EEAS spokesperson added. However, the authorities "displayed a positive attitude towards international observers, who were able to operate freely", the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also said that the EU looks forward to continuing dialogue and working closely with Azerbaijan, including with a view to addressing "fundamental" issues of democracy and human rights. The country's results in these areas are some of the worst in the world. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)