Azernews.Az

Representatives of European institutions have presented plans for assisting Azerbaijan in preparing for the October 15 presidential election.
"We consider this electoral process a key priority for the work of our institutions in Azerbaijan," Denis Bribosia of the Council of Europe, Jose-Luis Herrero of the OSCE and Alan Waddams of the European Commission said in a joint statement issued last Wednesday.
"We are still on time to put in place the necessary measures to guarantee an electoral process in line with international standards, but a serious effort has to be made by all the actors concerned. We are ready to support this effort."
The three institutions will help strengthen the capacities and independence of administrations involved in the electoral process; contribute to a media environment that would ensure independent, unbiased and plural coverage of the electoral campaigns of all the candidates; encourage the appropriate exercise of freedom of assembly; and stimulate public interest and participation in the electoral process.
The three institutions 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 election, the statement said.
The international representatives said holding a fully democratic vote in the country is possible.
Herrero, who heads the OSCE office in Baku, said there were relevant documents of his organization, the CE and the European Union outlining basic principles of democratic elections. He said political forces should enjoy equal conditions to ensure that the vote meets international standards, stressing the importance of ensuring freedom of assembly and independent work of electoral commissions. State bodies should treat all candidates equally, and the candidates should benefit equally from local media. Moreover, all parties involved should oversee both the voting on election day and the vote count.
The European Commission's envoy Alan Waddams said none of the elections held in Azerbaijan so far fully complied with international standards, which is quite natural for a newly-independent state.
"There are some countries that have not been able to hold fully democratic elections although they have been independent for a long time," he said.
Waddams emphasized that the country should fully embrace democracy to be admitted to the EU. He recalled that Azerbaijan was among countries that joined the European New Neighborhood Policy, a document which cites promoting democratic development as one of the priorities.
Waddams went on to say that election reform should be continued and the elections should be held in accord with Azerbaijan's international commitments.
"We have no intention to interfere with Azerbaijan's internal affairs, we are simply offering our assistance," he added.
Head of the Council of Europe Baku office, Denis Bribosia, said provision of assistance in the electoral process had been agreed with the authorities.
Outlining areas of future cooperation, he said the efforts of the electoral administration should be stepped up. Various training sessions will be held for the purpose and work carried out with electoral commissions, which could reduce interference with the electoral process. Assistance will also be provided to national election observers. At the same time, work will be done jointly with independent media, in particular, television debates and some programs will be arranged. The work of the Central Election Commission will be supported as well, Bribosia said.