CEC Allocates Meeting Venues: 'Not Appropriate for Freedom of Assembly'

On August 7, the Central Election Commission (CEC) released a list of venues designated for campaigning in the extraordinary elections for the Milli Majlis (National Assembly). The CEC has also published on its website a list of both open and closed spaces available for meetings with voters. The list reveals that a total of 5,113 venues have been allocated, with 3,259 open and 1,854 closed locations.

Responses to the question of whether the newly designated venues are more suitable for campaigning compared to previous elections are mixed.

In a statement to Radio Azadlıq, Gülaga Aslanlı, the head of the Election Headquarters of the Musavat Party, stated that there is confusion in the CEC's decision. Aslanlı emphasized that the same locations have been prepared for certain voters in two districts of Baku. He believes that candidates will mostly need to prefer neighborhood meetings in the current situation: "This will create conditions for certain problems to arise. In short, there is nothing positive to say about the places designated by the CEC for meetings with voters in major cities. Inviting people to open stadiums in the heat of summer is itself disrespectful to the voters."

Shahin Asadli, head of the CEC's Press Service, emphasized that the designated venues have been presented to district commissions and that all locations are free of charge: "It's just necessary to inform the district commissions to ensure that meetings do not overlap with each other."

Asadli notes that the same rule applied in previous elections: "There might be some changes in the number of venues this time; there were fewer in previous elections, but now there are more. So, there hasn’t been a significant change."

Novella Jafaroglu, a representative of the "My Vote Coalition," believes that the CEC has done well this time: "As far as I know, the commission is doing this work in accordance with the election legislation, and there has been no change regarding the issue of venues for meetings with voters in the code. Based on the list I've seen, I can say that the locations are suitable. My hope is that there will be no obstruction to opposition candidates on voting day."

However, Hafiz Hasanov, chairman of the "Law and Development" Public Union, takes a completely different perspective. He first points out that the number of open and closed venues is generally insufficient: "In the last parliamentary elections in 2020, the number of these venues was also low, and there have always been complaints from election contenders."

Hasanov additionally argues that determining open and closed venues is not appropriate concerning the essence of the freedom of assembly and election campaigning: "Firstly, there is no need to allocate these venues, and they should be regulated more by the 'Freedom of Assembly' law. In other words, this issue should arise from the content of the relevant law. If this approach is adopted, more opportunities should be created for both the contenders and voters in the elections. There could be minor restrictions for some places, but in other areas, meetings with voters can be held by notifying the relevant state bodies. Therefore, such matters should be reflected in election legislation and practice in the future."

The election campaign will officially begin on August 9. The CEC has announced that election campaigning will cease at 8:00 AM on August 31.