EU reports serious irregularities in the early parliamentary  elections in Azerbaijan

ArmInfo.The European Union reported serious irregularities in the early parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, which took place on September 1.

 According to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), the elections took place within a restrictive political and legal environment that didn't enable genuine pluralism of opinions and resulted in a contest devoid of competition.  In addition, serious irregularities and omissions of important safeguards were observed, especially in the vote count, raising questions about the integrity of the process. According to the information, the elections took place against the backdrop of continued repression of dissenting.  "The European Union calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to take on board and implement the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations in relation to these and previous elections. The EU is ready to assist in this process," the source says.