Activists criticized the formation of the CEC system in Azerbaijan

Baku/12.04.21/Turan: The term of office of the CEC of Azerbaijan expires on April 15. According to the law, the composition of the CEC must be re-formed. In accordance with Article 24 of the Electoral Code, six CEC members are appointed by the parliamentary majority party, six by non-party deputies, 6 by the minority parties in the Milli Majlis. However, a number of parties, NGOs and independent experts are not happy with this distribution of seats.

Member of the Audit Commission of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, MP Elman Nasirov, considers the current principle of formation “proportional” and “fair”. The composition of the CEC changes every five years after parliamentary elections.

Reforms are underway in the country, after last year's parliamentary elections a new political configuration is being formed - opposition representatives took the post of vice speaker, head of the committee, and deputy heads of committees. Therefore, the question of the composition of the CEC should be assessed taking into account these realities.

Natig Jafarli, a member of the political committee of the "REAL" party, believes that the current principle of forming the CEC does not justify itself. In reality, the position of those representing the ruling party and non-party members does not make much difference. Even if the remaining six people are representatives of extreme opposition parties, they cannot influence anything.

The REAL party advocates a transition to a proportional system of parliamentary elections and a change in the principles of forming the CEC. In this case, the concept of "independent deputies" will appear, Jafarli said.

In his opinion, civil society, media representatives should be represented in the CEC, at least with an advisory vote. “The most important thing is trust in the elections. Minimization of outside interference in the elections and the recognition of their results by everyone is more important than the one who holds the elections,” Jafarli said.

The head of the Musavat party, Arif Hajili, said that his party proposed the formation of election commissions on a parity basis many years ago. “This proposal was accepted by many parties and public organizations. After that, the international community, including the Venice Commission, recommended this option to the Azerbaijani authorities,” Hajili said. Musavat successfully tested this system in internal party elections.

The head of the Civil Rights Institute, Bashir Suleymanli, also considers the system of holding elections in Azerbaijan imperfect. “Election commissions have been formed under the control of the government for many years.

We see that the "parliamentary opposition" represented in the CEC actually supports the authorities. The so-called "independents" are also on the side of the authorities. In all elections, they unequivocally support the voting results, and charges of violations are not being investigated,” Suleymanli said. In his opinion, the political will of the authorities is essential for holding democratic elections. —21D-