High-voter turnout reported in Azerbaijan's Shusha amid parliamentary election

Voter turnout has been notably high at polling station No. 124 of the Shusha-Aghdam-Khojavand constituency No. 46 in Shusha city, as Azerbaijan holds its extraordinary parliamentary election, Azernews reports via Trend.

Voting commenced at polling station No. 46, located in the building of full secondary school No. 1 in Shusha city. The polling station opened at 7:50 AM in the presence of observers, who oversaw the sealing of ballot boxes before voting began at 8:00 AM.

This election follows a decree signed by President Ilham Aliyev on June 28, which dissolved the sixth convocation of the Azerbaijani Parliament and set the extraordinary election for September 1.

Across the country, 6,421,960 registered voters, including 374 who turned 18 on election day, are eligible to cast their ballots at 6,478 polling stations, which include 6,343 permanent and 135 temporary locations.

In the territories liberated from occupation, 54 permanent polling stations have been established, while 574 polling stations have been set up for internally displaced persons (IDPs) across 10 electoral districts, serving 397,862 voters. Over 42,000 voters are expected to participate in the liberated areas.

This election also sees 51,141 first-time voters, with the oldest female voter aged 134 and the oldest male voter aged 109. Exit polls will be conducted at approximately 2,500 polling stations, with three international organizations registered to carry out these polls.

The election process is being monitored by 112,749 local observers, including over 65,000 political party representatives, and 598 international observers from 51 organizations and 69 countries, including 227 from OSCE/ODIHR and 61 from OSCE PA.

Among the 990 registered candidates, 305 were nominated by 25 political parties, while 371 are party members not officially nominated by their parties, bringing the total number of candidates affiliated with political parties to 676.

To enhance transparency, webcams have been installed at 1,000 polling stations nationwide, allowing for direct and continuous online observation of the voting process. Portable ballot boxes are also being used across all polling stations for the election.