In Azerbaijan, opposition doubts credibility of CEC's data on turnout at referendum

In Azerbaijan, the official information of the Central Election Commission (CEC) concerning the turnout at the referendum on amendments to the Constitution does not reflect the actual situation. This opinion was voiced by opposition politicians, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot". According to them, the referendum failed to reach a 25-percent quorum and its results cannot be recognized as legitimate.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 26, Azerbaijan held the voting at the referendum on amendments to the Constitution. The Azerbaijani CEC has announced that the turnover at the referendum reached 3,671,707 voters, or 69.7 percent of their total number.

"The referendum results are not legitimate. They do not reflect the will of the citizens and will not be accepted by the Azerbaijani people," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Ali Kerimli, the leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA).

According to the opposition leader, the referendum cannot be recognized as valid, since it was attended by far less voters than the required 25-percent quorum.

"Even despite the countrywide falsifications, massive ballot stuffing, and 'carousels', no quorum was secured. Surveillance cameras showed empty polling stations. On the other hand, the media, in particularly, the websites of the 'Meydan.TV', the newspaper 'Azadlyg', and the Azerbaijani office of the 'Radio Liberty', and social networks on the Internet have made public dozens of videos indicating falsifications," said Ali Kerimli.

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