Today, the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Ties with Compatriots and the coordinator of the group of international observers from the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly in the elections to the Milli Majlis, Leonid Slutsky, held a press conference in the embassy of Azerbaijan in Moscow.
The Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Russia, Polad Bulbuloglu, said that the parliamentary elections in each country are important political events which determine state policy.
"During the previous five parliamentary elections the Azerbaijani CEC gained some experience in organizing democratic and transparent elections. It is very important that you will be observers at these elections, you have a very important mission," Bulbuloglu told Leonid Slutsky and observers from the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly.
Slutsky, in his turn, noted that Azerbaijan is the most serious partner of Russia in the Caspian Sea region and expressed confidence that the elections to the Milli Majlis will "convincingly demonstrate the consolidation of most of the population of the republic."
"In recent years, PACE's attitude towards Azerbaijan has smoothed, so I am sure that we will be able to work out the observational duties in the elections in cooperation with the PACE delegation. We will objectively evaluate the elections to the parliament," Leonid Slutsky noted.
According to him, Azerbaijan is much stronger than any insinuations and attempts to change the reality. "Any attempts to discredit the elections and Azerbaijan will fail, they already have. I hope that the elections will be dignified, democratic, and we can state this on Monday on November 2nd," the coordinator of the group of international observers from the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly at the elections to the Milli Majlis stressed.
"The Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS created the Institute for Democracy, which monitors various elections. The monitoring showed the improvement of election practice: elections have become more convenient for voters. We are already familiar with the conclusions of the long-term mission, and I think that turnout will be very high," he noted.
"There is some strange situation in the OSCE and the ODIHR. I think that their refusal to take part in the elections is strange, because the ODIHR was created to monitor the democratic elections of different levels in the OSCE area," the coordinator of the group of international observers from the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly at the elections to the Milli Majlis added.
"Not everyone is satisfied with the independent policy of the Azerbaijani state, these are the so-called opponents of the Azerbaijani government. Regardless of the upcoming elections, we believe this line to be non-constructive and destructive, because instead of welcoming Azerbaijan's steps as one of the most prosperous states in the CIS, they turn every success inside out," Leonid Slutsky concluded.
