“It’s a free democracy,” Baca told the US publication, the Sun. “It’s probably the only one that exists in that region.”
Baca was one of 20 American election observers and one of four former members of Congress in the Nov. 1 election observer mission.
The former congressman told The Sun that he liked what he saw in Azerbaijan, when the team visited randomly selected polling stations.
“The people were able to go to the polls without being intimidated, being able to cast their votes,” Baca said.
“It’s really appalling to me that the American people here, that only 10 percent of the people turned out to vote (in San Bernardino), according to the Sun-Telegram,” Baca said.
Voter turnout during the parliamentary election in Azerbaijan stood at 55.7 percent.
“Some of the people who turned out to vote would take their children to the polls,” Baca said. “And the children would start to get the importance of voting.”
“They’re really fighting for freedom and democracy and trying to get more people to participate,” Baca said, adding he was amazed that a high percent of the candidates are women.
Over 2.89 million voters cast their ballots in the election, which is six percent more than in the previous parliamentary election.
