The expert criticized the methodology of the Ministry of Justice for checking the lists of party members

Baku/19.07.23/Turan: The statement of the Ministry of Justice about the "voluntary" self-liquidation of 31 political parties in Azerbaijan, after the adoption of the new law, raises great doubts, political analyst Nasimi Mammadli believes. "Such a statement could be considered sincere if there were ample opportunities for the activities of political parties, political pluralism, freedom of assembly in Azerbaijan and there would be no problems related to the right to association," he told the Turan news agency. According to him, in conditions when political freedoms practically do not exist in the country, it is not necessary to talk about some kind of "voluntary" decisions of parties.

In his opinion, the self-dissolution of the parties occurred in most cases under pressure. Many parties have taken this step, taking into account the threats that the new law creates for them. Because according to this, the documents of the party that have not passed state registration are outlawed.

On the other hand, the law tightens the requirements for re-registration and in particular requires that the number of party members be at least 5 thousand, Mammadli continued. He recalled that 66 political parties were registered after Azerbaijan gained independence.

"In 1993, two of these parties were dissolved by a court decision. In 2021, 6 parties announced joining the ranks of the Yeni Azerbaijan Party. After that, the number of registered parties was 58. Most of these parties were unable to contribute either to the development of democratic processes in society or to give a positive impetus to the involvement of citizens in political participation. From this point of view, I think that the multiparty system and activities in this direction have not led to the democratization of society and pluralism," Mammadli continued.

He found it difficult to give an unambiguous answer on how the reduction in the number of parties will affect the development of democratic processes.

As for the fate of the 27 political parties that nevertheless applied to the Ministry of Justice for re-registration, the political scientist expressed the opinion that "the political decisions of the authorities, and not the norms and requirements of legislation, will be decisive in this matter."

He criticized the Ministry of Justice's verification of information about party members by phone. This technique is very controversial from the point of view of personal data protection.

"Other methods of identifying members should also be chosen. Just a link to a phone call will have legal consequences in the future. Dissenting parties will appeal to the courts, and the European Court of Human Rights, recognizing the violation of rights, will impose fines on the government. From this point of view, it would be more reliable if the verification of participants was different or, rather, more transparent. In any case, these inspections could be carried out with the participation of civil society, public councils attached to ministries and their proxies. On the other hand, I think that in such an anti-democratic country as Azerbaijan, it is difficult for five thousand people to join the party. Especially if we take into account how negative the attitude of the authorities towards oppositional political organizations is. The truth is, even members of opposition political parties are afraid to disclose their political affiliation. Because it leads to harassment, job loss and pressure on relatives. Therefore, I think that the method chosen by the Ministry of Justice has created a difficult situation for political parties, including opposition ones," Mammadli believes.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Justice has already identified "shortcomings" in the lists of two opposition parties – "REAL" and "Musavat" and invited them to correct the data on the members of these organizations. ----03B06---