The referendum was not free and fair - Civil Society Platform (CSP)

Serious shortcomings and violations in many aspects took place at the referendum  on September 26 on constitutional amendments,  reads the declaration of the public association "Civil Society Platform." Of the 29 proposed amendments to the Constitution, 14 are directly concerned its third section. However,  the Article 155 of the Constitution states that the rights and freedoms stipulated in the third section of the Constitution may not be put to a referendum for the purpose of  limitation, said the  statement.

Overall, the referendum act in many ways contradicted the very Constitution of Azerbaijan and international treaties of the country. In particular, the restrictions    concern property rights, citizenship, association and appeals, freedom of information and economic activity.

Amendments form new relationships that   cause damage to the principle of separation of powers, of belittling the status of parliament and MPs. The very haste of the referendum does not correspond to democratic principles and traditions.

 The campaign took place  under  limited opportunities for the opposition. Campaign group of the party "Musavat" faced pressure from the authorities. At the same time,  the party was not registered on trumped-up pretexts. In addition, because of the pressure campaign group  of REAL Movement was forced to stop its activities.

The National Council of Democratic Forces, which includes the Popular Front Party announced the boycott of the referendum, and from the very beginning announced its intention to hold protests. However, even the participants  of the agreed rallies were subjected to pressure -   they were  summoned to the police, detention and administrative arrest. The campaign took place in an atmosphere of  absence of debate on TV. Even at the Public Television was not pre-election debates.

On election day, there were mass violations of the law with the participation of members of election commissions, which   are on videos.

As usual, the authorities used "carousels" technology, issuing ballots to unauthorized persons, and the absence of independent local and international observers, facilitated the process. At the same time, the revealed violations have not been investigated by superior election commissions or prosecutors. This gives reason to believe that the process is managed centrally. In view of the above, the CSP does not consider free and fair referendum, and said that its results do not reflect the will of the people.

The CSP  stated with regret that  because the Referendum Act  is contrary to democratic legal principles  the local and international community questioned its legitimacy.-06D--