The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) announced its decision to send a five-member delegation to Baku. The visit is led by Jordi Xuclà (Spain, ALDE), and will take place between September 21-22. The goal of the visit is to assess the electoral framework and campaign prior to the parliamentary elections on 1 November in Azerbaijan.
According to the information on PACE's website, the delegation is due to meet the Speaker of the Parliament, the leaders of parliamentary groups and parties represented in the Parliament as well as leaders of opposition parties not represented in the Parliament. Talks are also scheduled with the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE, the President of the Central Electoral Commission and representatives of NGOs and the media.
The delegation will issue a written statement at the end of the pre-election visit.