Azernews.Az

The OSCE does not believe any changes will be made to Azerbaijan’s Electoral Code until the country’s parliamentary elections due in fall, despite its insistent proposals, Bilge Cankorel, head of the OSCE Office in Baku, has said.
Cankorel said in a meeting with the ambassadors of the OSCE member states in Baku on Friday that though the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has drafted recommendations on reviewing the composition of election commissions, the authorities did not take them into account. No changes are expected in this area until the November election, either, Cankorel said.
"The OSCE Baku Office has conducted broad dialog on the make-up of election commissions with the authorities and political parties, but there has been no progress to that end so far. There is nothing reassuring regarding the fulfillment of OSCE proposals."
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.
The parliamentary poll will be held in 125 constituencies based on the majority-of-votes system on November 7.
According to Cankorel, shortly before the elections, the Azerbaijani authorities did not take into consideration the OSCE’s conclusion that the recent amendments made to the Electoral Code at the intiative of the governing party could have an adverse impact on the electoral process.
The amendments, proposed by the ruling Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party (YAP) and approved by Azerbaijan’s parliament earlier this month, include the shortening of the election campaign period from 75 days to 60 days, and removing from the Electoral Code the provisions on state funding for election hopefuls.
Speaking about preparations for the upcoming elections being made by the OSCE Baku Office, Cankorel said his organization was focusing mainly on improving electoral administration, and ensuring freedom of assembly and equal conditions for all election candidates in the media.
Cankorel noted that the OSCE Baku Office would set up a joint taskforce jointly with the Executive Authority of Baku to deal with the consideration of appeals for holding public protests. According to him, the working group will help to prevent the misunderstandings regarding citizens’ right to assemble freely.
"At least, disputes will be resolved by means of dialog," Cankorel added.
OSCE representatives will provide counsel in the taskforce, while final decisions will still be made by the mayor’s office.
Earlier, the mayor’s office designated eleven locations in the Azerbaijani capital for public actions. But the opposition refused to hold protests there, charging that those venues are located far from the city center.
During the previous elections in Azerbaijan, the OSCE Office in Baku held such meetings with ambassadors as well, however, those meetings were held behind closed doors. This time, the OSCE Office’s event was partly open for the press.*