Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry comments on US State Department's assessment of parliamentary elections

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has expressed its opinion on the
statement issued by the US State Department in connection with the
parliamentary elections held in the country on the 7th of November.

APA informs that the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
received the statement with a sense of wonder and regret. "The State
Department said that the Parliamentary elections held on the 7th of
November in Azerbaijan were not carried out in accordance with
international standards. The statement makes references to the
conclusions of the monitoring group for the elections of the Bureau
for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the
OSCE and the European Parliament. However, the referenced document
makes no assessment similar to the opinion given by the American State
Department.”

The Foreign Ministry also noted that the document distributed by the
international organizations stresses that, along with some
shortcomings, the elections were held in conditions of peace and
debate, with the participation of all opposition parties, and that
this suggests that the general elections won the trust of the
population.