The Parliament of Azerbaijan - "closed" object

Parliament of Azerbaijan does not meet international standards of transparency. Citizens do not have the ability to directly observe the work of the Parliament, are not aware of how their representatives vote and are denied the opportunity to influence the legislative process. This was the leitmotif of the public debate: "The relationship parliament - the citizens: the national and international practice."

The hearings were organized by the Center for Monitoring Elections and Democracy Training (CMEDT) and the Democratic School of Journalism as part of increasing citizen participation in government decision-making.

As the executive secretary of CMEDT Bashir Suleymanli said, the framework of the project civic forums were held in 10 regions of the country in order to increase public awareness on the rights of the accountability of government agencies.

Lawyer Eldar Gojayev, in his report, focused on the legal basis of the transparency of the Parliament. He criticized the legal standard of "special treatment" by the Speaker of Parliament. Based on international practice, he pointed to the need for open public access to the parliament building.

Legislation, vague rules on verbatim transcripts of meetings, and committee meetings, does not concern you. Photos and video of committee meetings may be carried out only with the permission of administration.

According to Gojayev, citizens should be aware of what is happening in Parliament and these meetings should be fully televised. At the very least, this can be a special Internet TV.

Parliament also needs to create a special Parliamentary Research Institute, providing advice to the MPs.

Former MP Nazim Mammadov among shortcomings of parliament called the lack of alternative choices speaker, and not the creation of subcommittees.

Ineffective and functional committees of the parliament and the absence of the committees on important issues such as the public sector and European integration.

The head of CMEDT Anar Mammadov noted the adoption in May of last year, of the International Declaration on parliamentary transparency, which was initiated by the leading international NGOs. This declaration calls on all parliamentary information to be open to the public.

Provision should be made for parliamentary monitoring, access to information about members of parliament and members of the staff, information about the agenda of the parliament, election results, the publication of minutes of plenary sessions and committee meetings, information on the costs of Parliament and others.

The specific examples of international practice of parliamentary transparency Stefanie Schiffer told the European clearing house (Europe) and coordinator of the European Platform for democratic elections. -06D-