Azerbaijan: 132 int'l media outlets to cover election

BAKU

A total of 132 international media outlets will cover the snap parliamentary election in Azerbaijan, the chairman of Central Election Commission (CEC) said on Saturday.

Mazahir Panahov told a news conference in the capital Baku that some 199 representatives of 132 international media outlets from 47 countries will closely monitor the election scheduled for Sunday.

He said the latest number of the candidates for the deputy post is at 1,314.

Some 305 candidates are related to the political parties, while the rest are independent.

He said that almost 92% of candidates have a higher education degree, while almost half of the candidates are below the age of 40.

Panahov also underlined that some 883 foreign observers were registered to monitor the polls.

The CEC chairman said that almost one-fifth of the candidates are women, adding that he wished the female candidates were more in number.

Over 5.2 million registered voters will be able to cast their votes in over 5,500 polling stations across the country.

More than 340,000 voters -- the internally displaced people -- will vote in 523 polling stations all around the country, Panahov said.