Alliance NGO "Free Elections in 2013": There is Not Atmosphere of Fair Elections in Azerbaijan

There is not an atmosphere of fair elections in Azerbaijan for free and fair presidential elections. This idea was expressed at roundtable discussion on the pre-election situation in the country, organized on July 25 in the Media Center support group (OSG) "Free elections in 2013."

This social structure was established by several NGOs including Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDSC), Human Rights Club (HRC) and the Association of Democratic Journalists (ADJ.) The Coordinating Council GOP includes representatives of other NGOs.

"This year, the number of politically motivated arrests is so large that it is difficult to show the exact number of political prisoners. According to my sources, there are more than 100 people," said Anar Mammadov, head of the Center for Monitoring. According to Mammadov, there is a state of emergency on the eve of elections in the country. TV stations do not touch the theme of elections, and media’s interest in the elections is very weak.

The position of international organizations has not been identified. Groups of members

European Parliament proposed to delete Azerbaijan from the list of countries where elections should be monitored. An expert noted that as a rule, four institutions conduct election observation: ODIHR, PACE, OSCE, and the European Parliament.

The most objective observers are ODIHR and the European Parliament. However, an invitation to the OSCE ODIHR has not been sent yet.  The situation with the European Parliament also is not clear. Some MPs believe that the situation in Azerbaijan is critical, and monitoring of elections legitimizes fraudulent elections. Other MPs opposed the monitoring in order not to spoil relations with Azerbaijan authorities. 

Mammadov noted with regret the passivity of local civil society, which is to some extent due to the policy of the authorities, and, in particular, the tightening of legislation. The NGOs that want to carry out monitoring are faced with pressure, he said.

"Our capabilities are very limited. In view of the refusal of the authorities to register us, our NGOs are virtually paralyzed," said Mammadov. In all regions, there are restrictions on the activities of civil society institutions.

Hafiz Hasanov, head of the NGO "Law and Development", pointed to the deterioration of the legal environment for the election, which is due to reactive changes in the law in recent years. The political environment is characterized by increased repression.

"The current political atmosphere in the country does not contribute to the conducting free and fair elections," Hasanov said, adding that he does not expect the support of international organizations. According to him, the people themselves should change the situation in the country.

Suleymanli Bashir, Executive Director of EMDSC, urged citizens to increase their interest in the election, including the promotion of elections, to hold actions in the form of public festivals, wearing a shirt with a picture of the content relating to elections. He also noted the need to strengthen cooperation with international organizations.

Emin Huseynov, head of the IRFS, said that his NGO would monitor the election coverage in the media. Although the official election campaign has not started, TV channels are promoting government candidates. The absence of political pluralism does not allow the organization of fair elections.

The  panelists decided to organize a civil discussion forum after the official announcement of the start date for the election campaign  to  develop specific tasks to ensure the democratic elections.—16С06-