6 November 2005 is the day of Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan. The upcoming elections cause a lot of interest not only within the country, but also outside of its borders. The whole international community is watching the uneasy processes prior to the elections and gives its opinion about the situation. During October 2005 the Azerbaijani government has probably received the maximum number of recommendations, opinions, and reports than ever. Below you can see the extracts from the opinions/reports of highly authoritative institutions and / or persons about the pre-election situation and upcoming elections (31-OCT-2005).
PACE about elections
On 05 October the president of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Rene van Der Linden, speaking of the socio-political situation in PACE member states, said that the Council of Europe is closely following the developments on the eve of the November 6 vote in Azerbaijan. He said that he had recently visited the country and held talks with Azeri officials on the issue. He voiced confidence that the needed steps would be taken to hold a democratic poll.
However, on the 13-th of October, the pre-electoral mission of the PACE, which arrived on the 10-th of October to Baku, sharply accused violations of democracy norms in Azerbaijan on the eve of Parliament elections and demanded immediate improve of the situation. The members of the mission including: Leo Platvoyet (Holland), Andreas Gross (Switzeland), Anres Herkel (Estonia), Anna Severinsen (Danmark) and Movlud Chavushoglu (Turkey) noted despite of some positive facts, there remain lot of important issue of grate concern. Mission especially regretted that authorities ignored a number of recommendations made by the CE regarding a balanced composition of the electoral bodies at all levels, the dialogue between opposition and governing parties, violation of freedom of assembly. The statement of the mission said “the disproportionate violence and brutality, bordering on outright cruelty, displayed by police while breaking up public rallies during the last weeks is unacceptable in a democratic society and can be only condemned. In this respect it should be stressed that the authorities and specially the Minister of the Interior are directly responsible for the behavior of police forces under their command”.
The mission made a number of recommendations to the Azerbaijani government, including the implementation of the presidential decree of 11 May 2005 without any restrictions; introduction of the inking procedure for the election day; abolishment of restrictions on conduct of political rallies; prosecution of the aggressive policemen, violating the law and swing the brutality of rallies.
‘Deep Concern’ of OSCE
On 19 October the OSCE expressed “deep concern” at tactics used by the Azerbaijani government on the 17th when the arrival of the leader of Democratic Party Rasul Guliyev was expected. “The increasing number of violent incidents, the use of excessive and unjustified force against demonstrators, as well as questionable detentions and mass arrests are a major concern for us,” Maurizio Pavesi, the OSCE ambassador to Baku, said in a written statement. “These developments are not in line with international election standards and are inconsistent with the spirit and letter of the Presidential decree of 11 May.” Pavesi called on the government to “immediately justify” security force operations “in order to avoid further aggravation of the already tense political atmosphere in Azerbaijan.” Police have violently disbanded a number of banned opposition protests in weeks leading up to November 6 parliamentary elections seen as a test of stability and democracy in this oil-rich Caucasus republic.
Besides, the Ambassador Pavesi said that the OSCE Office is closely following the investigation of reported cases of violence, intimidation and detentions that took place after the recent demonstrations in Azerbaijan.
Recommendations of Freedom House
On 22 October Freedom House stated that the restrictions of authorities on a range of rights cast serious doubt on the ability of average Azeri citizens to enjoy a free and fair vote on November 6. “The Azeri authorities are demonstrating a troubling pattern of denial of rights, which suggests that there is insufficient political will to carry out fair and representative elections”, said Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor. Political demonstrations, which have been taking place weekly in the run-up to the elections, have been marred by police brutality, intimidation and arbitrary arrests of opposition members. Freedom House stated that the intimidation campaign and the government’s slow pace of reform cast into question the government’s will to meet its obligations as a member of the Council of Europe. Substantial restrictions on election-related gatherings and ongoing impediments to press freedom are among the obstacles to an open and fair electoral process. Ms. Windsor noted that the Azerbaijani government must cease trying to silence opposition members, candidates, and journalists and must ensure that free and fair elections lay the foundation for future democratic progress in Azerbaijan.
EU Expresses Concern
Though the purpose of their visit was to discuss a range of issues relating to the EU-Azerbaijan Relations, the delegation paid a special attention to the pre-election processes, taking place in the country. During its visit the delegation met with a number of high ranking officials, including president Ilham Aliyev, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, Interior Minister Ramil Usubov, Defence Minister Safar Abiyev, Minister for Economic Development Heydar Babayev as well as the leaders of opposition blocs Azadlig, New Policy and National Unity.
On the 29-th of October EU made a statement concerning the election campaign in Azerbaijan. The statement reads that EU watches closely the election campaign and takes into consideration intermediate reports of OSCE/ODIHR observation mission and PACE pre-election mission. EU highly assessed several positive aspects of the pre-election campaign, including presidential decree issued on October 25, though Brian Fall, head of “Three” delegation, EU’s special representative on South Caucasus, said the presidential resolution of October 25 was issued “late.” But execution of all items of the decree would have allowed “conducting parliamentary elections better, than previous ones.”
The statement indicates several serious violations and lack of correspondence to international standards, which occurred during the election campaign. EU is, particularly, deeply concerned about arrests of people that intended to welcome “one of opposition leaders” in Baku airport on October 16-17. EU urged Azerbaijani authorities to fully observe freedom of assemblies, especially in the regions. EU is also deeply concerned about use of excessive force against demonstrators by police. EU urged opposition to refrain from actions that could give cause for use of force.
EU said General Prosecutor’s Office must administer the complaints related to violation of law during election campaign. EU called on Azerbaijani authorities to fulfill international organizations’ recommendations to ensure democratic elections and expressed hope that elections in Azerbaijan would be free and fair and bring the country nearer to “New Neighborhood” policy.
European Parliament’s Resolution
On the 28-th of October Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commission’s Foreign Affairs Commissar, said in her interview to Radio Liberty “European Union’s Commission has been closely watching preparation for the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan,”. She said at yesterday’s session of European Parliament that last week’s events have “caused a great concern.” She, particularly, criticized arrests of several Ministers. “The arrests cast aspersions on the electoral process,” said Ferrero-Waldner.
“The arrests will inevitably cause growth of tension in the country. I regret that acts of violence and some specific incidents have already occurred during the election campaign,” said Commissar.
Despite the recent government’s steps to observe international organizations’ recommendations to conduct free and just elections, atmosphere in the country could negatively affect quality of elections, said Commissar. European Parliament also adopted the resolution on Azerbaijan urging authorities to observe freedom of assemblies, conduct free and just elections on November 6, release people detained during the pre-election demonstrations and investigate the acts of violence.
US Watches the Election Process Very Closely
On the 10-th of October the US Embassy in Azerbaijan released a statement which said that “the US embassy deeply regrets the serious injuries and condemns police violence during the unsanctioned demonstrations in Baku”. The statement said that Azerbaijani riot police beat and arrested dozens of opposition activists holding an unauthorized rally to call for free elections ahead of parliamentary polls that are seen as a test of stability in the oil-rich former Soviet republic. The embassy called on the government of President Ilham Aliyev and the opposition’s Azadliq (Freedom) bloc to exercise “restraint” and resume dialogue.
On 13 October, the congressmen from California – the republican Darell Issa and the democrat Loretta Sanchez held press-conference at the Hyatt park on the results of their two day visit to Azerbaijan. On the press-conference the congressmen expressed the hope that there would be no violence during elections. They also pointed out inadmissibility of prohibition of rallies without any grounded reasons.
On the 20-th of October the US President George Bush made the message to Ilham Aliyev, pointing out the necessity of fair lection in raising “strategic relationships between Azerbaijan and U.S. to a new level”. “I welcome your adherence to free and just elections. The elections are important for strong and long-term relationships between our countries,” reads the message.
The Assistant of the U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Freed, who was with a short trip in Azerbaijan made a speech at Baku State University on the 20-th of October. He emphasized that free and fair elections would promote long-term stability, rise of welfare of population and integration of the country into North-Atlantic structures. Noting an umber of measures for providing democratic elections Freed noted that “the latest events> cause concern of the USA. In particular, he called “dangerous” information about incomplete lists of electors, problems on issues of identification cards for electors, falsification, and use of administrative resources by local officers in favor of their supporters. Freed expressed concern with mass detention of citizens, including deputies, a great number of security forces in the streets. It makes doubtful obligations of the country to hold democratic elections, representative of the U.S. Department believes. He pointed out that estimation of the Department of State would be based on the conclusion of the OSCE mission. According to him, the difference between the official results and the results of exit poll can be only 1-2%. In his speech he mentioned that U.S. does not export revolutions, because revolution is a sign of failure. However, Daniel Fried said he welcomes “orange revolutions,” if they mean “support of freedom, reforms and democracy.”
On 20-th of October US representative in OSCE Julie Finley distributed a statement, which noted that the United States continues to observe the lead-up to the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan with great interest and concern. “We are all very hopeful that Azerbaijan is going to be able to continue to attempt to hold free and fair elections. It is very important for Azerbaijan, it is very important for the international community, and the United States wishes nothing but the greatest success for this country”.
On 21 October the US Senate adopted the resolution, which states that “all elections which took place in Azerbaijan after gaining independence in 1991 were falsified”. The US Senate calls the government of Azerbaijan to hold free and fair elections on November 6. Senate noted the importance of transparency of elections for the Azerbaijan’s integration into democratic communities.
On the 24-th of October the U.S. President’s National Security Assistant said in Moscow – Steven Hadley stated that U.S. hoped that the forthcoming elections in Azerbaijan would be fair. “Azerbaijan must understand that free and fair elections will help the country develop democracy. We must be sure that elections will be fair and that people will express their will. In this case we can be sure that Azerbaijan is on the right way,” said Hadley
On October 26, Vice-President of the United States Dick Cheney has phoned to Ilham Aliyev, said press-service of Azeri president. In the course of conversation, the sides expressed consent with successful development of the Azerbaijan-US relations in political and economic spheres. US vice President expressed confidence for the forthcoming parliament elections to be fair and transparent.
On the 26-th of October State Department spokesman Sean McCormack welcomed the announcement that the government of Azerbaijan would implement new measures to bolster the integrity and transparency of November 6 parliamentary elections. He called on Azerbaijan to implement “as quickly as possible” the measures outlined by President Ilham Aliyev, including accurate voter lists, reliable voter identification documents, and finger-inking to eliminate multiple voting. The United States urges the Government of Azerbaijan to implement these measures as quickly as possible, and to allow for peaceful freedom of assembly. “We call on all Azerbaijani political activists to take advantage of these emerging democratic opportunities in pursuit of an election that meets international standards”.
On the 27-th f October the U. S. Ambassador Reno Harnish held the press-conference in Ganja city of Azerbaijan. He urged local authorities to stop supporting pro-governmental candidates for parliament. He added that representatives of international organizations, including OSCE, watch closely election situation in the republic and fix all violations. “If the authorities and officials dealing in elections, as well as opposition and elections fulfill their obligations the elections on November 6 can become a “historical chance”, he said. Reno Harnish noted a number of positive steps, taken by the government, but emphasized that there is still much to be done. The Ambassador encouraged the Azerbaijani government to continue fulfill obligations in accordance with the instruction of the president of the country of May 11 and October 25.
Council of Europe
On the 26-th of October the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry Davis welcomed
Presidential Decree on the 25-th on the preparation of parliamentary elections on 6 November. “The proposed measures should clear the way for a better domestic observation, improve the guarantee of the crucial principle ‘one person – one vote’ by inking fingers, and improve the prospects for impartial conduct by the state administration during the elections,” said Mr.Davis.
“For some time now, I have been a strong advocate of finger-inking for the Azerbaijani elections. This is an accepted practice in several Council of Europe member states. There is nothing undignified about it. If I were entitled to vote on 6 November, I would feel reassured to have my finger – and everybody else’s finger – inked. I would know that nobody else had voted twice, and that is my basic right in an election. I hope that the Parliament and the Central Electoral Commission will act without delay on the recommendations by President Ilham Aliyev,” concluded the Secretary General.
Concern of Article 19 about violence in Azerbaijan
On the 10-h of October, the ARTICLE 19, the Global Campaign for Free Expression, expressed grave concern about increased threat to media freedom and continuous incidents of harassment of civil rights activists and journalists by law enforcement bodies of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the run-up to 6 November Parliamentary elections and called upon the Azerbaijani authorities to fulfill their human rights obligations under international law.
ARTICLE 19 regards the violent incidents as a attacks against the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly in Azerbaijan and a threat to free and fair parliamentary elections, and calls upon the Azerbaijani authorities to take all necessary measures to avoid similar violence to the one witnessed during 2003 Presidential elections.
ARTICLE 19 calls upon the Azerbaijani Government to honor its international commitments and basic human rights guaranteed in the Azerbaijani Constitution and abstain from restricting the Constitutionally-guaranteed right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association and ensure executive forces not to use any further violence against peaceful demonstrators or journalists.
Transparency International
On the 19-th of October Transparency International (TI) published the evaluation of the corruption indices of 2005. There were 159 countries on the list. Over 66% of them gained less than 5 points of the 10, which proved serious corruption in them. Many of the developing countries face both corruption and poverty, and the more the corruption, the more the poverty. The Chairman of TI, Peter Eigen, noted that the corruption caused the poverty and violated the efforts to solve the problem.
Azerbaijan still has a very bad index in the corruption level on the list. It is on the 137th with 2.2 points among the 159 countries in 2005. The country shows more corruption than, for example, Papua New Guinea, Venezuela and all the CIS countries, except Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Human Rights Watch
On the 31-st of October Human Rights Watch released a briefing paper, which says that the Azerbaijani government’s campaign of violence and intimidation against opposition candidates and supporters has extinguished the possibility of free and fair parliamentary elections on November 6.
“People cannot vote freely in an election when the authorities are beating up opposition supporters and preventing candidates from campaigning,” said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Azerbaijan’s history of election fraud and abuse is threatening to repeat itself.”
Human Rights Watch documented how police violence and arbitrary arrests have been endemic during the campaign period. Police have beaten and detained hundreds of opposition activists during attempts to hold rallies in the center of the capital, Baku. At the same time, the authorities have heavily interfered in the election process in favor of government-sponsored candidates. The government has stacked the Central Election Commission and local election commissions with its supporters. Moreover, it has failed to adopt measures proposed by the international community aimed at reducing the likelihood of fraud, such as changing the composition of the election commissions.
“The government is simply unwilling to allow a free and fair election,” said Cartner. “We are concerned that this could lead to a bloody crackdown against protesters.”
The 2003 presidential election, which the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe found to be fraudulent, was followed by violent protests met with excessive force from police and other law enforcement agencies that killed at least one protester. In the wake of the political upheavals following falsified elections in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, the opposition has raised expectations that democratic change is now possible in Azerbaijan as well.
Human Rights Watch called on the Azerbaijani government to immediately stop harassing opposition and independent activists, to allow freedom of assembly and to desist from intimidation on election day. Human Rights Watch further called on the international community to ensure that it will not be “business as usual” with Azerbaijan if that country delivers another round of seriously flawed elections.
(Sources: Turan Information Agency, Baku Today Net, Azernews, Azertag News Agency, ANS TV Channel, Space TV Channel)
