The Human Rights Commissioner of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Central Election Commission (CEC) held a round table on “Guarantee of the citizens’ election right” in relation to the early Elections to the Milli Majlis.

At the event attended by the employees of both institutions as well as representatives of media outlets, Mr. Mazahir Panahov, Chairman of the Central Election Commission spoke about the importance of large-scale educational projects organized jointly with relevant state institutions in the free, fair and transparent conduct of elections, the works and steps implemented in the field of further improvement of election legislation and electoral practice, thereby informing on appropriate conditions created for the organization of parliamentary elections on the basis of the requirements of the legislation in full compliance with international standards.

Underlining the duties of media outlets during the election process, the Chairman briefed on the inclusive opportunities created for local and international observers during the elections.

Ms. Sabina Aliyeva, Ombudsman informed the participants about the scheduled joint educational activities aimed at awareness-raising of voters to further ensure their election rights more effectively and improving the electoral system extensively, thereby noting that the Calendar Plan for the conduct of those events in the eve of the Parliamentary elections in cooperation with the CEC has already been approved and appropriate measures for their implementation have been undertaken.

The Ombudsman stated that the conduct of the elections in accordance with the Election Code proves once again the country's commitment to the principles of building a legal and democratic state, ensuring human rights and freedoms and developing national legislation.

Meanwhile, it was noted that based on the positive experiences of previous years, the Ombudsman, along with the staff of the Office and regional centers will independently observe as observers the early Parliamentary elections on their own initiative both in Baku and in all districts of the country.

Ms. S.Aliyeva also provided her recommendations on ensuring electoral rights more effectively based on the function practice of the Ombudsman institution in previous elections.

Later, Mr. Ilkin Shahbazov, Member of the Commission made a presentation on “Constitutional and Legislative Opportunities for the Effective Protection of Electoral Rights”. He stated that the existing election legislation in our country and the purposeful steps taken to conduct elections at a high level created opportunities for voters to exercise their constitutional rights freely and independently.

In his speech on “The Importance of the Observation Institution and the Role of the Ombudsman in the Process”, Mr. Aydın Safikhanli, Head of the Ombudsman Office underscored the significance of applying observation institution in the election process. Head of the Apparatus stated that the observation institution contributes to the protection of citizens' right to vote, prevention of shortcomings to be encountered during the election process, thereby creating an environment of openness and transparency, and he also spoke about the observation experience of the Ombudsman Institution.