Azernews.Az

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe and the European Union on Wednesday announced their plans for assisting Azerbaijan to prepare for the parliamentary elections to be held in November.
The heads of the three institutions’ offices in the country, Bilge Cankorel of the OSCE, Veronika Kotek of the CoE and Roland Kobia of the European Union, said in a joint statement that the electoral process is a key priority for the work of their organizations in Azerbaijan, as well as for the country itself as a member of the international community.
"We encourage the country to continue addressing the shortcomings identified by international observers in previous elections. For this, an effort is needed by all the actors concerned and we stand ready to support this effort."
Cankorel announced that the assistance of these three organizations will concentrate on strengthening the capacities and independence of the electoral administration and other relevant actors; supporting a media environment that would ensure independent, unbiased and pluralistic coverage of the electoral campaigns of all candidates; encouraging the appropriate exercise of freedom of assembly; and stimulating public interest and participation in the electoral process, including by women.
According to Cankorel, the three organizations will work with public authorities as well as civil society and will develop their plans in a concerted and coherent manner "to ensure that their assistance best contributes to the efforts of Azerbaijan to hold free and fair parliamentary elections."
CoE Ambassador Veronika Kotek said the November vote was a key opportunity for promoting democratization in Azerbaijan. She noted that the elections held in recent years enable a conclusion that Azerbaijan has made progress in this area.
"Following our consultations with government agencies and civil society representatives, we developed a plan of action regarding the forthcoming elections in Azerbaijan. The program consists of four categories: the legislative aspect, working with the bodies administering and organizing the elections, working with mass media, which are a key part of a democratic society, and activities involving rank-and-file citizens aimed at fostering an environment of a vibrant electoral process."
The EU’s Roland Kobia also said Azerbaijan has made considerable advances in the area of holding democratic and transparent elections, adding that the EU was ready to assist the country in organizing the upcoming poll.
Kobia said the bloc was implementing several projects in areas including media freedom, stimulating civil participation in elections and improving the technical capacities of the electoral process.*