Azerbaijan's foreign ministry has described as "surprising" and "regrettable" the U.S. Department of State's statement that its parliamentary elections do not meet "international standards."
Azerbaijan's ruling party Yeni Azerbaijan won Sunday's elections, gaining more than 70 seats in the 125-seat legislative assembly. The opposition claims the vote was rigged.
In the statement, published on Monday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley
said the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan were "peaceful, with the participation of all opposition parties and observers from domestic groups and the international community," adding that "nevertheless, the elections did not meet international standards."
"We support the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) mission's preliminary assessment that 'the conduct of these elections overall was not sufficient to constitute meaningful progress in the democratic development of the country,'" the statement said.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said that along with "some shortcomings" of the election process which international observers pointed to in their statement, issued on Monday, they also praised the "peaceful" nature of the polls, which, according to the ministry, "gained the trust of the population."
Holding "democratic, fair and transparent elections is the state's main target," the ministry said, adding that the Central Election Commission and other state institutions would "seriously investigate some shortcomings observed during the election process and take necessary measures."
Among "shortcomings" that Crowley said took place during the polls were "a lack of balanced media coverage of candidates, continued restrictions on fundamental freedoms of assembly and expression, and a deficient candidate registration process," as well as "serious violations of election procedures, including ballot box stuffing."
BAKU, November 10 (RIA Novosti)
