BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 7. I am confident that today in the election the citizens of Azerbaijan will vote for strengthening the sovereignty and independence of Azerbaijan, for the prosperity of the state, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Ilyas Umakhanov told Trend.
"European standards should catch up with the best practices that have been approved, developed, and improved in the CIS countries, including in the presidential election in Azerbaijan. This concerns both the techniques of the electoral process and the enthusiasm with which the citizens of Azerbaijan come to the polling stations. We are witnessing a huge queue of citizens wishing to vote," he said.
From 08:00 (GMT+4), polling stations will be open for voters, and close at 19:00. The Central Election Commission Secretariat's Information Center will share preliminary updates on the voting process and results at 10:00, 12:00, 15:00, 17:00, and 19:00 Baku time.
Candidates for the presidency in the upcoming election include incumbent President Ilham Aliyev (New Azerbaijan Party), independent contenders Zahid Oruj and Fuad Aliyev, Razi Nurullayev (National Front Party), Fazil Mustafa (Great Order Party), Elshad Musayev (Great Azerbaijan Party), and Gudrat Gasanguliyev (Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party).
The voter roll boasts 6,478,623 people who will cast their votes across 6,537 polling stations throughout the country.
A total of 90,372 observers are registered to monitor the election, with 790 of them representing 72 international organizations from 89 countries.
For the first time in the history of independent Azerbaijan, the upcoming election will span across the entire country, including the lands liberated from Armenian occupation in 2020. In the liberated territories, 26 polling stations have been established.
For Azerbaijani citizens residing abroad, 49 polling stations have been established in the embassies and consulates of 37 countries. This allows over 23,000 expatriates to participate in the voting process from various corners of the globe.
A robust media presence of 190 international entities is dedicated to observing the election, with 216 of their representatives officially registered as international observers.
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