The mission of observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Azerbaijan's early presidential election will be headed by the CIS Secretary-General Sergey Lebedev, Azernews reports via the CIS Executive Committee.

The committee said that his candidacy has been approved by the decision of the Council of Permanent Representatives of the CIS Participating States at the statutory and other bodies of the CIS.

"The CIS observer mission will monitor the electoral campaign at the invitation of the Government of Azerbaijan. The Executive Committee of the CIS has sent invitations to the CIS countries, requesting the submission of candidates for their representatives to the mission," the committee said.

"As in previous campaigns, the mission's work will be based on the principles of political neutrality, non-interference in the electoral process and internal affairs of the state, strictly in accordance with national legislation," the committee added.

On December 7, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on holding an extraordinary presidential election in Azerbaijan on February 7, 2024.