"I congratulate the people of Azerbaijan on their peaceful campaign and election day,” Mr. Fischer said in a statement, AzerTAc reports.
“Overall around election day I have observed a free, fair and transparent electoral process. The will of the authorities of Azerbaijan to have a large presence of national and international observers for the 2013 presidential election is commendable. From what I have seen, electoral procedures on the eve and on election day have been carried out in a professional and peaceful way. I was pleased to see the sound technical preparations and the investment made by the Azeri authorities for this election.”
“On election day I did not witness any evidence of intimidation against voters, in or close to polling stations. There was no presence of police around polling stations in compliance with the electoral law. I have not seen any signs of campaign material close to polling stations.”
“Azerbaijan has been a member of the Council of Europe for more than 10 years and the 2013 presidential elections were held at a crucial moment for relations between the EU and Azerbaijan that is less than two months before the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius. Final reports on the observation of the elections will be delivered in the forthcoming weeks by the two institutions.”
“The European Parliament stands ready to keep working closely with the Parliament of Azerbaijan to enhance EU-Azerbaijan relations, both bilaterally and in the context of the Eastern Partnership," Mr. Fischer said.
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