Political parties are taken under the control of the government!?

On September 7, 2022, the new Draft Law on Political Parties was posted on the website of the Milli Majlis and opened for public discussion. This new Draft Law consists of 6 chapters, 30 articles, and 306 provisions.

What is the essence and purpose of the new Draft Law and what is its necessity? Will it help to solve political problems in an environment without political competition, pluralism, a multi-party system, and free elections? Will it be possible to solve the problems related to the freedom of activity of political parties and open the way for political participation? There is a serious need for wide discussions around such questions.

It should be recalled that on June 27, 2022, in the article entitled "Where does a whole raft of political parties lead us?" published on the Astna.biz analytical website of the Turan News Agency (https://astna.biz/ext/news/2022/6/free/pol-parties/az/2573.htm), we analyzed the real situation of political parties in society. In this direction, we emphasized the need to improve the legislation and apply the advanced international practice. Even today, we believe that there is a need for a new progressive law regulating the activities of political parties in the country. Can the new Draft Law be considered a progressive initiative in this direction?

One of the laws that form the basis of the system of political relations in the country is the Law on Political Parties. Shortly after Azerbaijan gained independence, on June 3, 1992, the Law on Political Parties was adopted. This Law, consisting of 4 chapters and 22 articles, could be considered acceptable for the transitional period.

The abolition of the proportional electoral system by the constitutional amendment of August 24, 2002, greatly weakened the place and role of political parties in society. Then, on May 27, 2003, with the adoption of the Election Code, opportunities for government control over the activities of political parties were created. In 2008, numerous restrictive amendments and additions were made to Law on Freedom of Assembly, adopted on November 13, 1998, and mass political activism was prevented by administrative methods. In fact, political participation in the country was reduced to the minimum level.

The policy of restricting political freedoms and rights has been implemented in the country for nearly 30 years. The rights and freedoms stipulated in the Constitution are blocked by laws and other normative legal acts. Freedoms of thought and speech, expression, assembly, access to information, and association are strictly regulated by law. The approaches of the government show that the traditional repressive policy continues. The democratic political reforms promised by the head of the state remain a statement.

As you read the new Draft Law, the real goals of the government become clear.

First of all, this Draft Law restricts the right to association stipulated in Article 58 of the Constitution.

The norms proposed in Article 5 of the Draft Law regarding the establishment of a political party have been sufficiently aggravated. It is required that in order to establish a political party, at least 200 citizens must be founders, and at the same time, these persons must live permanently in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the last 20 years. Provisions 15.5 and 16.5 of the Draft Law also require that the chairman, deputy chairman, and the management of the executive body of the political party must live permanently in the country for the last 20 years. Furthermore, Article 6 states that a political party must have at least 10,000 members for state registration.

It is not clear on what basis these norms have been determined. It is impossible to understand such a difficult procedure to establish a party when there is a norm of living in the country for 10 years to be elected to the highest political position of the country - the president. There is no such norm even for the 1st vice-president, who acts as president in his absence.

The requirement to live permanently in the country for 20 years can limit young people's path to political activity. Will it be possible for young people who studied abroad at the expense of private and state funds to establish a political party or be represented in the leadership of existing parties after returning to the country? Is there a guarantee that an artificial barrier will not be created in front of young people with reference to this law? Moreover, will this norm be applied to those who work in scientific and practical activities abroad, work in various international projects under contracts and return home? There is no clear answer to these questions in the law.

If the Draft Law is adopted in this way, the government will have full control over the political parties. According to Paragraph 4 of Article 6, the political party shall submit information about subsequent changes in the register of members twice a year to the body determined by the relevant executive authority. This norm, which is not found in international practice and in the legislation of the member states of the Council of Europe, will result in total control over the parties.

Furthermore, Paragraph 16 of Article 7, which provides for control over the activities of political parties, serves to make parties dependent on an executive body. The relevant executive authority, which will control the activities of the political party, has very wide powers.

It considers appeals of members, state bodies, local self-government bodies, legal entities, and natural persons against the party and reviews information published (broadcast) in the media.

It reviews the data in the register of political party members at least twice a year using the state electronic information resources, receives an explanation from the legal representative of the political party on the issue, and takes other measures determined by the normative legal acts of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In fact, the government sees the political party not as a voluntary association of citizens, but as a limited liability enterprise.

This Law serves to create a legal environment to eliminate political parties, especially the opposition. It will be possible to block the legal activity of the opposition based on Article 8.9 of the Draft Law, which reads: "The activity of a political party that prevents the elimination of the circumstances that led to the declaration of a martial law or a state of emergency and the implementation of specified measures can be suspended until the end of the period of the martial law or the state of emergency."

Moreover, According to Article 9.3.4 of the Draft Law, the party may be dissolved if it does not participate in the parliamentary, presidential, or municipal elections twice in a row (in the form of direct participation of the registered candidate in the elections).

This provision of the Draft Law is completely contrary to democratic principles. First of all, any party has the freedom to participate or not to participate in the elections. The purpose of this provision is to punish opposition parties that boycott the elections. A boycott is a form of political protest. Even in the Labor Code, workers have the right to strike as a sign of protest. Punishing a political party for the boycott decision is a violation of the political rights stipulated in the Constitution.

Elections in the country are held with the majority electoral system. Voters vote for individuals, not parties. It is absurd to punish the party for the fact that its member exercises his/her right to participate passively in the elections. Furthermore, participation in elections in our country is not a duty, but a right of a citizen. No liability can be assumed for the non-use of the right.

On the other hand, even if a political party nominates candidates, according to the Election Code, their registration is within the powers of the Constituency Election Commission and Central Election Commission. In practice, it has been repeatedly proven that the Con.EC and CEC execute political orders related to the registration of candidates without exception. The government can exclude the opposition party that it does not want to participate in the elections through election commissions and then use this as an excuse to dissolve the party.

One of the most worrisome issues in the Draft Law is Article 20.10, which reads: "It registers the members of political parties (name, surname, patronymic, as well as a personal identification number, date of birth, registered address, local organization of the registered party (if any), and contact telephone number)." It is clear to the general public that the policy of total repression against the opposition is being carried out in the country. This provision will allow the government to precisely identify opponents in the country and take each of them under special control. Not only they but also their family members can be persecuted. This Draft Law could bring and end to political activity in the country, which is already very weak. It can challenge hidden political activity in the country and lead to more systematic forms of struggle from abroad.

If the Draft Law law is adopted, it will seriously hinder the creation of democratic and civilized political relations in the country. Political parties will be isolated from society as institutions that express people's political rights and interests. It will lead to further strengthening of anti-democratic tendencies in the country.