Excerpts from report by Azerbaijani news agency Bilik Dunyasi
on 31st August

The People's Front of Azerbaijan Party (PFAP) today staged a
picket in front of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC)
building. The PFAP presidium secretary, Alimammad Nuriyev, told
a Bilik Dunyasi correspondent that the PFAP was protesting
against the infringements tolerated during the formation of the
precinct electoral commissions.

Nuriyev also said that according to his information, serious violations had been
tolerated during the lots-casting held in the republic's 37
districts. The picketers are protesting against the illegal
exclusion of PFAP members from the process of establishing the
precinct electoral commissions. The PFAP leadership disagrees
with the refusal to accept the protocols in which the parties
nominate their candidates for the commissions.

[Passage omitted: more on lots-casting irregularities]
It should be noted that the Baku mayor's office has not
authorized the staging of today's picket, in which more than 40
people took part.

Source: Bilik Dunyasi, Baku, in Russian 1420 gmt 31 Aug 99
BBC Mon TCU 310899 cal/vz