In an interview with secki-2020.az, Chairman of the International Relations Research Center, Political Scientist, Rufiz Gonagov shared his views on the pre-election environment in our country and the elections to the Milli Majlis. We present the interview.

- Mr. Gonagov, the next parliamentary elections will be held in Azerbaijan on February 9. We would like to know your opinion about the election preparation process and the electoral environment in our country.

- As we know, serious reforms are being carried out in our country. Therefore, in line with the reforms conducted, as well as, the requirements of the new era, there was a need to reorganize the parliament.

I consider that reforms conducted in our country have increased people's interest in the parliamentary elections. These elections are different from previous ones in terms of the number of candidates, young people, and women. The activeness of the registered candidates in constituencies is another interesting point. That is, the candidates are very active in the election campaign. Considering the active participation of the candidates in the election process, we expect the greater voter turnout on Election Day.

Bu onu göstərir ki, deputatlığa iddialı bütün namizədlər üçün bərabər şərait yaradılıb. Məhz bu səbəbdən hələlik hər hansı bir namizəddən tutarlı narazılıq qeydə alınmayıb.

Preparation for the parliamentary elections is conducted in a democratic atmosphere. There is a healthy environment for democratic elections in Azerbaijan. At the same time, one of the most interesting aspects of the election process was the fact that the majority of applicants were registered as a candidate. In other words, the Central Election Commission ensured the participation of all candidates by even canceling the decisions of some Constituency Election Commissions.

It shows that equal conditions have been created for all candidates. For this very reason, no serious complaints have been reported by any of the candidates yet.

- There are a quite number of observers, along with the parliamentary candidates in this election. It is noticeable especially in the number of international observers. What is the reason for this attention?

- Yes, large number of international observers participate in the elections to the parliament. It seems that international organizations have a great interest in monitoring this election. The number of local observers is even higher. It is also encouraging that there is a great interest in the elections. Therefore, this election will differ from the others in terms of the number of observers. I believe that the democratic environment created in connection with the parliamentary elections would be the next stage of the wave of reforms in the country.