Afterword to the press conference of the OSCE / ODIHR mission

Baku / 10.03.18 / Turan: Head of the observation mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Elections and Human Rights (ODIHR) in the presidential elections in Azerbaijan, Korin Yonker, at a press conference on Friday surprised the audience with her statements. She categorically refused to assess the pre-election situation, citing the fact that the mission had just started work. Yonker did not even answer the question about the findings of the ODIHR pre-election assessment mission.

By the way, the pre-election delegation, which visited Baku on February 21-22, also did not comment on the results of the mission.

It is noteworthy that in the 2013 presidential election, the OSCE / ODIHR assessment mission issued its report on July 13, focusing on the country's electoral system. It was noted that CEC members are appointed in three equal parts: the parliamentary majority, the minority and independent deputies who "usually support the ruling party."

Members of 125 district and 5,300 precinct election commissions are appointed according to a similar scheme. All chairmen of election commissions are appointed by a parliamentary majority.

A number of interlocutors of the mission said that such a formula gives pro-government forces control over all commissions, undermines the credibility of the impartiality of election commissions.

The analysis of the electoral law states that as a result of the amendments adopted in recent years, the candidates were deprived of state funding, and pre-election campaign was reduced to 23 days.

Amendments to the Constitution in 2009 allowed the incumbent president to run for a third term. At the same time, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe regarded this as a step "back from democracy," the report said.

A number of interlocutors of the mission said that they faced serious problems in the implementation of basic freedoms during the pre-election period. In particular, the ability of political parties and citizens to freely express political views is limited because of the restriction of freedom of assembly and association.

Several parties reported problems in providing office space and meeting places.

One candidate from the opposition has been imprisoned since early 2013 (Ilgar Mammadov) and another opposition leader (Ali Kerimli) cannot go abroad since 2005, when he was refused a passport.

Despite the existence of several television channels, citizens' access to different political views is limited. At the same time, the print run of print media is limited. Lawsuits on libel and other charges will not allow journalists to work freely and express opinions. On June 4, 2013, the criminal punishment for defamation was also extended to the Internet, the report stressed.

Another monitoring mission of the ODIHR - at the parliamentary elections on November 7, 2010, at the first press conference, assessed the pre-election situation. Its head, the representative of Great Britain Audrey Glover noted that not all the recommendations of the ODIHR were implemented by the authorities.

"The application of laws should be as clear as their content and this depends on political will," Glover said.

Asking the question from Turan how much election process can be considered objective, if the OSCE recommendations on the composition of election commissions were not taken into account, Glover said that the mission will pay attention to the political composition of the electoral administrations. In addition, the mission intends to pay close attention to freedom of assembly, in particular, holding rallies in the center of Baku. Glover called the "harassing factor" the content of the prison journalist and bloggers. On June 21-24, 2010 Baku was visited by the OSCE / ODIHR Assessment Mission headed by Nicholas Kazharowski and Chief Election Specialist Jonathan Stonestreet.

In its conclusions, it was said that, despite the adoption of measures for the technical organization of elections, Azerbaijan still has difficulties in improving the democratic atmosphere of elections. "Due to regular refusal of political parties to hold rallies in the center of Baku, freedom of assembly is actually restricted: journalist arrests, defamation proceedings and other forms of pressure on media representatives restrict freedom of the press and create an unfavorable situation for the free expression of ideas characteristic of the electoral process ", the document says.

The formula for the formation of election commissions was criticized. "In practice, it gives the pro-government forces a decisive majority and damages the impartiality of the electoral administration," the report stressed.

Similarly, OSCE / ODIHR missions commented at the beginning of the election campaign and in all previous elections.

It is curious that Ms. Yonker, refraining from commenting on the pre-election situation, managed to evaluate the "constructive" cooperation with official Baku, thanking the authorities for the "timely invitation to observe the elections." - 06D-