The spokesperson for the European External Action Service noted, on Thursday evening 8 February, the preliminary findings and conclusions of the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission that the early presidential election in Azerbaijan took place in a “restrictive political environment and under laws that curtail fundamental rights and freedoms, including freedom of assembly, expression and media”.
“While the preparations for the elections were efficiently managed, the stifling of critical voices and the absence of political alternatives marked the electoral process”, the spokesman emphasised in a statement. The spokesperson added that, while the polling was generally calm and orderly, OSCE observers had reported “widespread disregard for mandatory procedures, a lack of transparency and numerous serious irregularities”.
The EU hoped that the Azerbaijani authorities would implement the OSCE’s recommendations concerning the elections.
The election, the first to be held throughout Azerbaijan, including Nagorno-Karabakh, saw Ilham Aliyev re-elected for a fifth term with 94% of the vote. His re-election was welcomed by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. In a telephone conversation, Mr Aliyev and Mr Michel discussed EU/Azerbaijan relations and cooperation, including connectivity and energy, and the normalisation of relations between Baku and Yerevan. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)