OSCE says presidential election in Azerbaijan not competitive enough
BAKU. April 12 (Interfax) - The presidential election Azerbaijan held on April 11 was insufficiently competitive, Nilza de Sena, the special coordinator and leader of the short-term OSCE observation mission, said at a press conference in Baku on Thursday.
There were also other irregularities during the election campaign, she said.
In particular, there were flaws in the election process and were certain restrictions on media coverage during the campaign, she said.
Although candidates were given free airtime for debates, the media devoted the largest part of coverage to the incumbent president, she said.
Government institutions did not impede the observation mission's work, she said.
The press conference was temporarily disrupted when local journalists started emotionally expressing their discontent at the observers' criticism of the election, an Interfax correspondent reported.