Opposition politicians criticize the draft of the new law on parties

Baku/01.11.22/Turan: The day before, an alternative public discussion of the draft Law "On Political Parties" was held. The event, organized by the Meclis.info platform and the public association Artikl 54, was attended by representatives of political parties.

The participants raised the condition for registering parties that they have at least 10,000 members. It was pointed out that it is enough to have 300 members in Georgia, 30 in Turkey, 3 in the Czech Republic, and 1,000 in Poland.

According to lawyer Kenan Gaibov, in 2011 there was a proposal in Azerbaijan to increase the number of members of political parties to 5,000. However, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe pointed out that Azerbaijan's figure is too high. "Therefore, the demand remained at the level of 1,000 people," Gaibov said.

Member of the Political Committee of the Real Party, Natig Jafarli, noted that the philosophy of this bill is wrong. “The law seems to be written to regulate business structures, it is replete with numbers.”

The activity of the parties is connected with the elections. The numbers should be measured by the number of votes in elections, not by formal lists of members.

“The authorities should not consider the new law as a way to fight political opponents. The bill once again shows that the authorities are preparing levers of pressure and influence on their opponents,” Jafarli said.

According to the deputy chairman of the Musavat party, Sahavet Sultanly, the project under discussion is directed against democracy. There is no need to change the law on political parties. “The government wants to get leverage against parties that do not act on its orders,” Soltanli said. In his opinion, it is necessary to completely abolish the requirement for the number of party members.

Tamilla Gulami, deputy chairman of the "Ümid" (Hope) party, also said that the bill is contrary to common sense. "The law is adopted to facilitate the work of parties and citizens, and this one only complicates everything. The requirements for the presence of 200 people for the founding and residence of the founder in the country for 20 years are absurd. These articles contradict the Constitution of Azerbaijan," Gulami said.

The requirement to cancel the registration of a party that did not participate in elections twice is also contrary to the law. 

Member of the Presidium of the Popular Front Party Asif Yusifli believes that the current law does not need to be changed. When it took 1,000 members to create a party, there were many more opportunities than now. He also called the requirement for the founder to live in the country for 20 years absurd.

The head of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives, Akif Gurbanov, believes that the bill contradicts both international and local legislation.

According to the head of the Institute of Political Management Azer Gasimli, the spirit of this bill is completely authoritarian. "Here they openly say what cannot be done. But if you want political parties to function normally, to have democratic elections, then all obstacles must be removed. This bill does not provide for public participation," Gasimli said.

According to him, the main goal of the bill is to maintain control over the political parties that are in "dialogue with the authorities", and at the same time create obstacles for others.

Member of the board of the Azerbaijan Democracy and Welfare Party Ellada Mammadli believes that the new bill has been prepared so that the parties are not registered.

The proposals made as a result of the discussions will be sent to the Milli Majlis and the Presidential Administration within three days. ---21B04---