Incoming protest wave in Azerbaijan – MPs ‘on duty’ in front of the election commission

Three candidates who did not make it into parliament in the recent elections have been staging protests in front of the Central Election Commission (CEC) in Baku for several days.  

Rabiya Mammadov, Nurlana Jalil and Khalid Bagirov, as well as several of their supporters, demand their allegations of widespread electoral falsifications be examined and the election results canceled.  

The police are trying to drive them away from the building. There are more police officers than protesters.

Snap parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan were held on February 9. According to most independent local observers and international organizations, they were undemocratic and took place with many violations. For that reason, dissatisfied candidates have already twice tried to hold protests, but both times authorities stopped them.

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The CEC is currently considering complaints of election irregularities and has already canceled the results in several constituencies and precincts, however this is unlikely to affect the overall election result and the new composition of the parliament.