Azernews.Az

STRASBOURG – Azerbaijan’s parliamentary elections held last November were low-key and progress was achieved, but efforts should be stepped up to foster a democratic accord in the country, says the report of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe election observation mission presented by a Polish lawmaker on Monday.

Tadeusz Iwinski said as the assembly’s winter session opened that four minutes of air time were granted to each election candidate on Public TV. He said the PACE mission described participation of all parties in the elections as "positive", saying that unlike previous elections, this process marked notable changes and improvement of the electoral system.

Iwinski also pointed to some shortcomings including claims on falsification of votes, pressure on election hopefuls and abuse of power during the elections. Also, part of the candidates were not registered, he said.

The Polish lawmaker noted that some of his counterparts did not approve of the observation mission’s report.

"They say that the report is biased and the November 7 poll was not conducted well. But I believe this is a very balanced report," Iwinski said.

He added that PACE was committed to cooperating with Azerbaijan in the area of elections and was ready to support efforts on strengthening the country’s democratic system.

Former PACE co-rapporteurs on Azerbaijan Andreas Gross and Andres Herkel, who took part in the discussions, claimed that democratic norms had not been observed during the elections.

But British and Russian lawmakers said Azerbaijan had achieved progress in the electoral process. Russia’s Konstantin Kosachev said it would be wrong to conclude that the elections were conducted well or poorly "and their overall dynamics should be studied". "And the dynamics suggests that the elections in both Azerbaijan and Moldova were conducted well," he said.

Britain’s Michael Hancock said the Azerbaijani elections had "justified the expectations of the majority".

The ruling Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party (YAP) gained a 72-seat majority in the 125-member legislature. 13 candidates representing 10 other parties were elected to the Milli Majlis as well. Independent candidates claimed the remaining 40 seats. The main opposition candidates were unsuccessful at the polls.

Fazayil Ibrahimli, a member of the Azerbaijani delegation at PACE, brought the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh to the attention of the lawmakers, saying that the election proceeded amid tension caused by the long-standing dispute.

Azerbaijan is represented at the PACE session by a group of MPs headed by Samad Seyidov, chairman of the Azerbaijani parliament’s international relations committee.

The agenda of the session, which will run until Friday, covers issues including inhumane treatment of people, ways of countering trafficking of human organs in Kosovo, steps to be taken after reforms in the Council of Europe, and enforcement of the European court’s rulings.