Azerbaijani CEC approves nomination of five presidential candidates

Today, the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Azerbaijan has approved nomination of the incumbent President Ilham Aliev, Fuad Aliev, the Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party, and three self-nominees as presidential candidates.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the presidential election of Azerbaijan had been initially scheduled for October 17, 2018. However, on February 5, Ilham Aliev moved the date to April 11, without presenting any reasons for the move. The opposition criticized this decision, explaining it by authorities' desire "to ease falsifications and not to allow the opposition to get properly prepared."

The decision to ignore the election was made by the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF), the Musavat and Umid Parties, while the Republican Alternative (ReAl) and Nida movements announced that they would not recognize the election outcomes.

Today, the CEC has approved two candidates nominated by political parties, namely, the incumbent Ilham Aliev, who is also the leader the ruling "Eni Azerbaijan" Party; and Fuad Aliev, the Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party. The CEC has also approved three self-nominees: the lawyer Anar Umudov, Zakhid Orudj and Tural Abbasly, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed at the CEC's press service.

To get officially registered candidates had to collect at least 40,000 voters' signatures in the territory of at least 60 out of all 125 constituencies. The deadline for accepting voters' signatures is March 12.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.