Meeting on 9 July, the Central Election Commission (CEC) formally registered three more presidential candidates, raising the total number to 15. The three are Abutalyb Samedov, chairman of the pro-government Alliance in the Name of Azerbaijan; Elshad Musaev, who was nominated by the Great Azerbaijan group of voters; and Hafiz Hadjiev, head of the Modern Musavat party. Musaev\'s application was initially rejected. The CEC rejected the application of self-nominated Hadji Abdul on the grounds that the documentation he submitted in support of his candidacy contained errors. The CEC also accepted three other presidential nominations -- from architecture professor Kamran Rustamov; Vahdat Party leader Tahir Kerimli; and Musa Tukanov, who was nominated by a group of voters as his United Communist Party has not yet been formally registered by the Justice Ministry. (Turan)