OSCE official calls to set up ‘trustworthy’ election bodies
The OSCE is seeking establishment of electoral
commissions in Azerbaijan that would be trusted by all sides
involved, its official said.
Head of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Election Department, Nicolas Kaczorowski, said setting up an independent electoral body was pivotal for holding democratic elections.
"In other words, electoral commissions must be impartial and professional for elections to be fair," Kaczorowski told a roundtable organized by the OSCE Baku Office on Tuesday.
He went on to say that a format of electoral bodies that all forces would confide in should be found not by international organizations but the political circles of Azerbaijan.
"The forces participating in Azerbaijan’s elections should set up such an electoral body that would be relied upon and respected both by all political organizations and the public."
Kaczorowski noted that Azerbaijan is currently in the process of searching for a formula defining the establishment of election commissions that would be accepted by everyone. The OSCE is offering various models. Kaczorowski believes that failure to resolve these issues by this year’s parliamentary poll would adversely affect the outcome of the elections and the overall implementation of the country’s commitments to the OSCE.
Shahin Aliyev, a department head at the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, says the proposal to alter the composition of electoral commissions should be backed up by analytical conclusions. Aliyev said that prior to changing this format, the current situation should be researched. "It should be precisely determined that if electoral commissions are altered by any given means, what will be accomplished as a result in future elections."
The Presidential Administration official emphasized that international organizations, including the OSCE, may make proposals on ways of improving Azerbaijan’s electoral system, however, "it is hard to unequivocally assess the recommendations being addressed to Azerbaijan now."
"New proposals are made by the OSCE. In the past, we determined the existing format of electoral commissions based upon those very OSCE recommendations. And I am very surprised that the OSCE is raising this issue before the Azerbaijani government again," Aliyev said.
18 seats in the commissions are currently equally split among pro-government, opposition and independent members. But the opposition claims that independent members tend to favor the government and calls for forming the bodies with equal representation of only the authorities and opposition.
The parliamentary poll will be held in 125 constituencies based on the majority-of-votes system on November 7.
Head of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Election Department, Nicolas Kaczorowski, said setting up an independent electoral body was pivotal for holding democratic elections.
"In other words, electoral commissions must be impartial and professional for elections to be fair," Kaczorowski told a roundtable organized by the OSCE Baku Office on Tuesday.
He went on to say that a format of electoral bodies that all forces would confide in should be found not by international organizations but the political circles of Azerbaijan.
"The forces participating in Azerbaijan’s elections should set up such an electoral body that would be relied upon and respected both by all political organizations and the public."
Kaczorowski noted that Azerbaijan is currently in the process of searching for a formula defining the establishment of election commissions that would be accepted by everyone. The OSCE is offering various models. Kaczorowski believes that failure to resolve these issues by this year’s parliamentary poll would adversely affect the outcome of the elections and the overall implementation of the country’s commitments to the OSCE.
Shahin Aliyev, a department head at the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, says the proposal to alter the composition of electoral commissions should be backed up by analytical conclusions. Aliyev said that prior to changing this format, the current situation should be researched. "It should be precisely determined that if electoral commissions are altered by any given means, what will be accomplished as a result in future elections."
The Presidential Administration official emphasized that international organizations, including the OSCE, may make proposals on ways of improving Azerbaijan’s electoral system, however, "it is hard to unequivocally assess the recommendations being addressed to Azerbaijan now."
"New proposals are made by the OSCE. In the past, we determined the existing format of electoral commissions based upon those very OSCE recommendations. And I am very surprised that the OSCE is raising this issue before the Azerbaijani government again," Aliyev said.
18 seats in the commissions are currently equally split among pro-government, opposition and independent members. But the opposition claims that independent members tend to favor the government and calls for forming the bodies with equal representation of only the authorities and opposition.
The parliamentary poll will be held in 125 constituencies based on the majority-of-votes system on November 7.
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