The presidential elections are held without genuine political rivalry

The Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDSC) has released an interim report on observations of the first stage of the early presidential elections – the nomination and registration of candidates, and the campaign. The conclusions are based on interviews conducted by its representatives, official documents and communications, information from open sources and information from registered observers.

The appointment of early elections 14 months ahead of schedule made it difficult for all interested parties, including parties and candidates for the post of head of state, civil society structures and international monitoring structures, to actively participate in them.

Despite the fact that early presidential elections are being held three years after the parliamentary elections, during this time the Azerbaijani authorities have not shown the political will to improve electoral legislation and practice based on the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR, other local and international monitoring structures.

EMDSC notes with regret that on the eve of the February 7 elections, the crisis surrounding the protection of political freedoms in Azerbaijan worsened, obstacles to the exercise of freedom of expression, assembly and association were not removed, pressure on independent civil society and media structures increased, and harassment of journalists and public activists increased.

As a result, a favorable democratic environment was not provided for the active participation of civil society structures and political parties in the elections. Regarding the nomination and registration process, out of 17 applicants, only seven submitted the required number of voter signatures, and all were registered.

A joint appeal  of three candidates Matlab Mutallim, Namizad Safarov, and Sarvan Kerimov  to the CEC stated that their nomination documents were not accepted in a timely manner. At the same time, their documents were reviewed longer than the 5-day period, and therefore they were unable to collect the required number of signatures within the time prescribed by law.

It was also pointed out that the persons who submitted signatures for them were threatened by the authorities. At the same time, it is indicated that five of the six rivals of the current president had previously participated in the presidential elections, but they gained a very small number of votes and never disputed the results. On the contrary, during the inter-election period, they showed political loyalty to the government.

The stage of pre-election campaigning has not turned into a genuine political rivalry between opposing political forces.

During the six televised debates organized on public television, the current president did not participate. He was represented by the deputy chairman of the ruling party. The other six candidates did not allow criticism of the head of state, did not form the idea that they were political opponents of the president and did not try to show themselves as representatives of an alternative political force claiming power.

Voters did not have the opportunity for alternative elections among different political views. Thus, the atmosphere of a political alternative, which is a condition for free and fair elections, was not ensured.

EMDSC considers it necessary to organize the voting and vote counting process in accordance with legal norms, to prevent interference in the activities of election commissions of executive authorities and other state structures.