OSCE says it won't monitor Azerbaijan's Nov. 1 parliamentary election

Azeris are due to vote for the new parliament on Nov. 1. 

"The restriction on the number of observers taking part would make it impossible for the mission to carry out effective and credible election observation," Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), said in a press release on the OSCE website.

Azeri officials were not immediately available for comments.

Azerbaijan's permanent mission to the OSCE said in August the country's authorities were ready to accept only six long-term and not more than 125 short-term ODIHR observers instead of 30 long-term and 350 short-term international monitors.

Azerbaijan canceled a European Commission delegation visit on Friday and said it might review relations with the EU after the bloc's parliament called on it to free an investigative journalist and several human rights figures.

 

(Reuters)