Mohamed ElHafed Maham
Versions of names:
Mauritania
Mohamed ElHafed Maham observed Azerbaijan’s September 2024 snap parliamentary election as a member of the delegation of the OIC. Mohamed ElHafed Maham, from Mauritania, has served as office director of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC), headquartered in Tehran, Iran since 2018. Before, he was a director at the Mauritanian State News Agency.
Corresponding elections
legitimate
In Azerbaijan's September 1, 2024, snap parliamentary election, the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, led by President Ilham Aliyev, narrowly maintained its majority with 68 out of 125 seats. Held early to avoid conflicting with COP29 in Baku, the election saw limited opposition with 44 seats won by "independents" broadly aligned with the regime. Voting extended to Nagorno-Karabakh for the first time since 1994, underscoring Azerbaijan's control of the region. Despite a peaceful election day, international observers highlighted a lack of democratic standards, with low voter turnout (37%) and substantial restrictions on political freedoms, media access, and independent observation. The EPDE and OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) criticized the election’s credibility, noting extensive repression of opposition and the presence of fake observers.