Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan were held in accordance with international standards, the Azerbaijani news agency Trend cited the head of the PACE observation mission as saying.
“I have not heard about serious problems during the elections”, Paul Wille said. He also praised the former Soviet republic’s democratic progress.
“The elections were held in peaceful atmosphere,” Wille added.
The head of the OSCE PA long-term mission, Wolfang Grossruck, also stressed the peaceful atmosphere and said there were “no incidents.”
Azerbaijan's ruling party Yeni Azerbaijan won Sunday's parliamentary elections, gaining 71 seats in the South Caucasus country's legislative assembly, the Central Election Commission said, citing preliminary results.
The opposition claims the vote was rigged.
Under the Azerbaijani constitution, elections to the 125-seat one-chamber parliament are held every five years. All seats are allocated under the majority, or first-past-the-post, system.
Yeni Azerbaijan (the New Azerbaijan), founded by the late Heydar Aliyev in the early 1990s, is now led by his son, President Ilham Aliyev.
BAKU, November 8 (RIA Novosti)
