Activists urge to send the draft law on political parties for examination by the Venice Commission

Baku/29.11.22/Turan: A group of civil society activists issued a statement calling on the Milli Majlis to remove the draft new law "On Political Parties" from the agenda. The document notes that the bill restricts fundamental rights, including freedom of association. "We consider the adoption of such a reactionary project as the strangulation of the political will of the citizens of Azerbaijan," the statement said.

The authors of the statement consider the provisions of the draft law on the creation, registration, financing, control of the activities of a political party to be inadmissible. The draft law on political parties does not comply with the basic principles of the Council of Europe, of which Azerbaijan is a member, including the requirements of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights on freedom of association.

The unwillingness of the Azerbaijani authorities to receive an expert opinion from the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe is regarded by activists as “a rejection of democracy.

The statement calls for the bill to be removed from the agenda of the parliament, finalized taking into account the rules and recommendations of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights regarding the regulation of political parties.

It is also noted the need for the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, PACE and other structures to call on Baku to obtain the opinion of the Venice Commission before the adoption of this bill.

The document was signed by: Akif Gurbanov, Intigam Aliyev, Alesker Mammadli, Yalchin Imanov, Anar Mammadli, Rufat Safarov, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, Azer Gasimli, Bashir Suleymanli lawyers Agil Laij, Zibeyda Sadigova, Shahla Humbatova, and others. ---06B---