US shares OSCE’s concerns over election in Azerbaijan

The United States shares the OSCE’s concerns regarding the parliamentary election in Azerbaijan, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

“So, we share the observation and concerns of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights monitoring mission regarding the Azerbaijani September 1st parliamentary election. And we urge Azerbaijan to implement the OSCE’s previous recommendations as well as ones that we understand to be forthcoming, and enable the exercise of fundamental freedoms by its people consistent with its constitution and international commitments,” Miller said.

The head of the OSCE/ODIHR observation mission, Ditmir Bushati, said Azerbaijan’s election did not offer voters genuine political alternatives and took place within a legal framework overly restrictive of fundamental freedoms and the media. The EU called on the country’s authorities to accept and implement the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations related to these and previous elections.