A total of 20,743 out of 31,465 nominees have been registered so far to stand for election to local councils in Azerbaijan.
Of the 20,743 candidates registered for 1,654 municipalities, 4,624 are women, the Central Election Commission's press service reported. Almost half the candidates, 10,283, are standing as independents, while the rest represent 31 political parties in all.
The elections to Azerbaijan's municipalities will be held on 23 December. Under the electoral law, candidates must first be nominated. Once a nomination has been approved by a constituency election commission or the Central Election Commission, the candidate is given signature sheets. Every candidate has to collect between 15 and 150 signatures in their support from voters in their constituency. The completed signature sheets are submitted to the constituency election commission for verification. Once the constituency election commission has approved the signature lists, the candidate has completed the registration process. Campaigning begins 28 days before election day.