Observers from the European Parliament on the way of "caviar diplomacy"

The PACE observation mission and the European Parliament announced today the primary conclusion of the presidential election on October 9.

The paper argues that the October 9 election process was "transparent, fair and free."

As the head of the delegation of the European Parliament Pino Arlacci said, the processes before the election and on the elections day passed quietly. He expressed satisfaction with the "technical skills" of the elections by the government of Azerbaijan.

According to him, the mission did not record cases of pressure on observers at polling stations.

According to the electoral law, at polling stations there were no police. However, there is a need for "some improvement".

Thus, compared to the previous elections, "there was little free debate."

For the opposition, some opportunities opened up and in the future it should be developed. The current election process is just the beginning, MEPs believe.

"We are calling upon the Government of Azerbaijan to seriously develop the path to democracy," said Arlacci.

At the same time, he stressed the need for progress in ensuring fundamental freedoms, and the government should be attentive to this.

Both delegations will soon present their final reports.

Note that the European Parliament delegation consisted of 7 members. The PACE delegation led by British MP Robert Walter had 32 parliamentarians.

In recent years, MEPs are taking a more conformist attitude to the ruling regime in Azerbaijan, turning a blind eye to massive human rights violations referred to in the reports of authoritative international human rights organizations.

Two years ago there was even a study entitled "caviar diplomacy", which describes the backroom deals of the authorities of Azerbaijan to PACE members, who are paid for lobbying the interests of official Baku. -16D06-