Azernews.Az

BAKU – A delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) visiting Azerbaijan ahead of the November 7 parliamentary elections has welcomed an overall calm atmosphere in the run-up to the elections.

"This is a positive departure from the ways of the past where electoral campaigns were marred by violence and mutual recriminations," the five-member delegation said.

"Improvements in the work of the Central Election Commission, the voter education program launched by it, and greater attention to the quality of the voters’ lists, should be commended," the PACE mission said in a statement.

PACE said further that "in a welcome development and in contrast to some earlier elections", the Azerbaijani opposition is actively involved in the electoral race.

"It is making attempts at forging electoral blocs and trying to overcome competing individual agendas," the PACE representatives told a news conference Thursday.

The assembly’s mission noted that building electoral alliances is usually part and parcel of a democratic process. The delegation also welcomed the new possibilities created for non-governmental organizations to be involved in the electoral procedures.

However, once again, the PACE delegation has not witnessed a competition of substantive political ideas, platforms or approaches. Furthermore, this is exacerbated by "the lack of any public debate (including TV debates) that would help the electorate to make an educated choice on election day", the mission said.

"This choice can be made only after public debates. Therefore, we support conduct of a more vibrant debate," head of the observation mission, Paul Ville, told the press.

The PACE observers said they were also concerned about allegations that the pre-electoral situation is characterized by administrative pressures and difficulties relating to candidate registration. Alleged harassment of some journalists and bloggers, instances of which were brought to the attention of the delegation, is not conducive to a constructive dialogue within society, the mission said, urging "corrective action".

The PACE also said while the existing legislation provides for universal suffrage in Azerbaijan, the very numerous Azerbaijanis residing abroad will only be able to vote in the parliamentary elections if they return to their constituencies in the country on voting day. "This compromises the principle of universality of voting rights."

Also, people with disabilities should have better possibilities to vote, for instance through the setting up of polling stations in hospitals.

Finally, the delegation called on Baku to rectify the situation with entry visas for observers. "If, contrary to official declarations, those cannot be issued upon arrival, this should be made known to would-be observers for them to avoid unpleasant surprises en route to Baku," the statement said.

Parliamentary elections are held in Azerbaijan by the majority of votes in 125 constituencies. Previous elections were held in 2005.

The delegation was in Baku October 18-21 at the invitation of the Azerbaijani parliament speaker and will return, as part of a full-scale, 30-member PACE delegation, to observe actual voting. The delegation had meetings with President Ilham Aliyev, the chairmen of the Central Election Commission and of the Constitutional Court, the interior minister, as well as with a representative cross-section of political parties and electoral blocs, diplomats, civil society and the media.