IRFS declares that there are no conditions for free elections

Baku/10.0418/Turan: The severe restrictions on freedom of expression existing in Azerbaijan do not enable holding a free and fair snap presidential election in Azerbaijan on April 11, 2018, the Institute for Reporters" Freedom and Safety said today.

Compared to the presidential elections of 2003, 2008 and 2013, where the situation with freedom of expression similarly fell short of the requirements for holding free and fair elections, the current pre-election situation, which paves the way for Ilham Aliyev for a fourth presidential term, surpasses all three previous presidential races combined in terms of the totality of violations of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association.

The absence of necessary fundamental freedoms and the unexpected and unjustified call of the presidential election six months ahead of its scheduled date forced the opposition to boycott the election in view of the lack of minimum time necessary for preparation. IRFS" monitoring of state and public television revealed a complete lack of pluralism of opinions, a pattern which was also observed in all nationwide private television and radio broadcasters. The limited free-of-charge televised campaign aired on the public television showed itself to be essentially nothing more than a pathetic imitation of a debate between presidential candidates. As in previous elections, Ilham Aliyev neglected public opinion and considered it unnecessary to take part in the televised pre-election debates even with the opponents under his control whom the ruling regime appointed to the role of "opposition" presidential candidates. The pre-election campaign on TV was marked by heinous attacks on the democratic opposition who decided to boycott the elections, independent online media and popular bloggers living in exile. Almost all nationwide television and radio channels, which still have a serious influence on shaping public opinion, acted as a propaganda mouthpiece for the ruling regime and its candidate Ilham Aliyev.

"On the eve of the elections, the situation with the safety and freedom of journalists in Azerbaijan remains depressingly bad," IRFS CEO Emin Huseynov said. "Despite of journalist Aziz Orujov"s release by the Supreme Court last week, it is obvious that the authorities deliberately create a positive smokescreen on the eve of the voting day in the eyes of foreign and European observers, by imitating the existence of an independent judicial system and a political will to ease pressure on journalists.

IRFS regrets that the Azerbaijani civil society, being under severe pressure from the authorities, is unable carry out its mandated functions both because of unfair severe legislative restrictions and due to the lack of proper support from traditional Western donors.

In a situation where the civil society is deprived of the chances to observe the elections, a greater duty for impartial observation of the election lies with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, whose preliminary and interim reports failed to reflect the full extent of the dramatic pre-election atmosphere.

IRFS calls on the democratic countries of the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the European Union to give the harshest and most adequate assessment of the violation by the Azerbaijani authorities of their international obligations in the field of democracy and human rights and to start applying strict sanctions against representatives of the ruling elite.

Given the notorious experience with bribing foreign observers in previous elections, IRFS calls on international observers to not succumb to corrupt temptations of the Azerbaijani authorities and to not bargain with their conscience. -0--