There is high probability of reactionary amendments to the law "On political parties"

Representatives of all political parties represented in the Milli Majlis appealed to the Chairman of the Milli Majlis in connection with the preparation of a new draft law "On Political Parties". The press and public relations department of the Milli Majlis told local media that the appeal stressed the need to develop a new law that would meet the realities of the country's modern development. Last  month the Chairman of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova gave relevant instructions on the preparation of a new bill, and work on the preparation of the document has begun. Given the social significance of this law, the political parties registered in Azerbaijan were asked to submit their proposals on a new bill to the Milli Majlis.

What was the reason for a  sudden need to prepare a new law "On political parties"? What was missing from the current law? Do they really intend to introduce negative shades into it, as it happened with other laws?

Hafiz Hasanov, the head of the Law and Development Public Association, spoke about this in an interview with ASTNA.

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Question: They are changing the law on political parties. Do you think there is such a need?

Answer: The law "On political parties" needs to be amended. However, these changes should not provide for restrictions on the creation and activities of political parties and interference in the activities of political parties. Amendments to the law should create an opportunity for fair competition of political ideologies in the country, facilitate the conditions for the creation and registration of political parties, expand the forms of their activity, ensure an equal approach to all members of political parties, regardless of their political position, and increase the material and technical capabilities of political parties. I think that today there is a need to make such changes to the law “On political parties”.

Question: How do you assess the current law "On political parties"? What are its shortcomings?

Answer: If there are problems with the establishment and registration of political parties, there is discrimination against opposition political parties, the forms of their activities and opportunities are limited, state bodies interfere in their activities, the material and technical capabilities of their activities are unequal, then all this is a consequence of the abnormality of the Law. About political parties. If the law were normal, and there were no such shortcomings in it, the Law would not provide legal opportunities for this.

Question: What do you think motivates the desire to develop a new Law “On Parties”?

Answer: In recent years, after the regressive changes in the Law on Non-Governmental Organizations and the adoption of a new Law on Mass Media, which provides for significant restrictions and interference in the activities of the media compared to the previous Law on Mass Media, it is likely that changes to the Law on Political parties” will be of a reactionary nature. In general, observations show that over the past decade there has been a tendency in legislation to restrict fundamental human rights and freedoms. All this gives reason to believe that the proposed changes to the law "On political parties" are not dictated by good will. These changes are likely to further limit the possibility of creating and operating political parties, increase interference in the activities of political parties, simplify the procedure for terminating the activities and liquidation of political parties, etc.

Question: What should be in the new law? How to formalize it so that it protects the interests of all parties?

Answer: I believe that the amendments to the Law "On Political Parties" should be progressive in nature and contain the following: to create a political party, it should be enough to unite several persons, and not 1,000 people, as in the current law, and registration documents and procedures should be simple, easy. The forms of their activity should be wider and not limited by vague norms, minimizing state interference in the activities of political parties. At the same time, the suspension and cancellation of the activities of political parties should be possible only if the activities of political parties are aimed at forcibly changing the constitutional order and secular nature of the Republic of Azerbaijan, violating territorial integrity, promoting war, violence and cruelty, inciting racial, national and religious hatred. The law should create unambiguous legal guarantees for the material and technical possibilities of the activities of all political parties. The inadmissibility of discrimination against political parties and their members based on political views should be legally ensured, and the legislation should provide for strict measures of legal responsibility for such an attitude.