BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- The Azerbaijani parliamentary election did not meet international standards despite some improvements, the chief observer of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Monday.

    "Yesterday's election did not meet a number of OSCE commitments and Council of Europe standards for democratic elections," Alcee Hastings, president of the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly and special coordinator of the observers for the poll, told a press conference.

    More than 1,500 observers from international bodies like the OSCE monitored Sunday's election.

    Hastings acknowledged improvements in the pre-election period, but said these gains were marred by fraud once polls closed.

    "It pains me and my colleagues to report that progress noted was severely undermined in the counting. While voting was generally calm, the process deteriorated during tabulation," Hastings said.

    "The road leading to these elections was paved with good intentions and bad practices."

    Continued restrictions on the freedom of assembly also marred the campaign period, the OSCE said.

    According to the latest official results based on almost 96 percent of ballots counted, the ruling New Azerbaijan Party won an outright majority, with control of 63 seats in the 125-seat national assembly.

    The parliamentary poll has been preceded by months of street protest and arrests. Opposition activists held rallies in the capital of Baku nearly every weekend in the run-up to the elections. Most of them were dispersed by police who cited a ban on downtown protest. Enditem