Azerbaijan Agrees To Foreign Election Monitoring
October 28, 2005
A demonstration in front of the Popular Front Party headquarters in Baku on 9 August (RFE/RL)
on foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) monitoring the 6
November parliamentary elections.
The ban barred groups that received more than 30 percent of their
funding from foreign sources from monitoring polls in the country.
The
move came after the country's Central Election Commission on 26 October
approved using ink to mark voters' fingers to help prevent fraud at
polling places.
Andreas Herkel, a Council of Europe envoy
monitoring the Azerbaijani election, earlier called the ban on NGO
monitoring a quote "stupid prohibition."
(AFP)