1637 candidates including 357 women contenders are in the field

By Riaz A Malik

ISLAMABAD JANUARY 31: Pakistan and Azerbaijan enjoy close brotherly relations which will further strengthen in the days to come. This has been stated by Azerbaijan Ambassador to Pakistan His Excellency Ali Alizada during a briefing to the Observers and media persons who are proceeding to Baku to cover the Parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on February the 9th.
He added that promotion of bilateral relations including people to people contacts are need of the hour for the economies of both the countries. The Ambassador also hailed the media of both the countries for its positive role in strengthening this relationship.
Mr. Ali Alizada went on to say that the forthcoming parliamentary elections will further strengthen the democracy in his country which in turn will benefit the people. He added that a fifteen member Observers/media persons delegation will head to Baku to monitor/cover the elections.
Divulging details about the candidates and parties, he said that in all 1637 candidates have been registered out of whom 272 represent 19 different political parties which is a clear manifestation of the
open competition . Talking about the women candidates he said that this time 357 women candidates are taking part in the elections whereas this number was just 141 in 2015.
The Ambassador also spoke at length about the elaborate arrangements, the Central Election Commission has made for the conduct of free, fair and transparent elections in the country.
The envoy said that equal opportunities were provided to the contesting candidates for running their campaigns in an amicable atmosphere. He added that candidates also used social networks to reach the voters.
Earlier, Mr. Samir Guliyev Dy Head of the Mission and Mr. Elchin Mahdiyev, Third Secretary received the participants and briefed them about the forthcoming visit as well as the elections.