Parliament adopted scandalous law on political parties

Baku/16.12.22/Turan: Milli Majlis on Friday adopted in the third and final reading the reactionary "Law on Political Parties".

The act was adopted despite numerous protests and demands by both the country's political forces and international organisations.

According to critics of this law, it significantly restricts rights and freedoms, including freedom of assembly and expression.

For example, to register a political party, it must have at least 5,000 members. If their number falls below 4,500, a lawsuit will be filed in court to cancel the state registration of this party.

A register of members of political parties will also be kept. Then all the data of the party members must be in the public domain. No political activity is allowed without state registration.

Donations to political parties during a year cannot exceed the 35-fold minimum wage (currently 10,500 manats).

The opposition interprets all these provisions as an attempt by the authorities to legitimise the restriction of its political activities and the liquidation of opposition parties.

On December 14, the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe decided to urgently request the Council of Europe's Venice Commission to assess the law. This was reported by REAL leader Ilgar Mammadov. -03D-