Over 1,000 foreign monitors to observe Azerbaijan polls

BAKU, October 9 (RIA Novosti) - Azerbaijan's Central Election Commission has so far registered 1,104 international monitors to observe the country's October 15 presidential election, the top election official said Thursday. The elections will be monitored by observers from 59 countries, including more than 300 from Russia, 50 from the United States, 20 from Britain, 60 from Germany and 40 from France. "The process has not finished. The accreditation of international observers is continuing," Mazahir Panakhov said. He added more than 20 foreign media organizations had sent representatives who would also provide an unbiased coverage of the elections. Azerbaijan's presidential campaign officially kicked off September 17 and will run until October 14. Seven candidates, including incumbent Ilham Aliyev, have been registered as... [read full story]