Azernews.Az

The Council of Europe Venice Commission has expressed discontent with the recent changes made to Azerbaijan's Election Code and the Law on Freedom of Assembly.
The criticism was reflected in the final feedback after discussions at the two-day plenary session of the Commission held last week.
"Keeping the composition of election commissions unchanged and the reduction of the term of pre-election campaigns are particularly undesirable," its representative Sergey Kuznetsov told Radio Liberty. "The Venice Commission considered these one of the key aspects."
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. International groups have suggested that the government accept the proposal to increase confidence in electoral bodies.
Kuznetsov said most of the changes to both laws were introduced without consulting the CE, i.e. no discussions had been held with the Venice Commission beforehand. "Overall, no changes were made to the Election Code with regard to a number of issues, and we are disappointed with this."
At the same time, the CE representative welcomed the amendment on finger-inking of voters.
The country's presidential election is due in October.
Under the changes passed in the Azerbaijani parliament on June 2, the term of pre-election campaigns was reduced from 120 to 75 days. 40,000 signatures are required for the registration of candidates instead of the previous 45,000, and the system of placing deposits by election hopefuls was cancelled. The amount of funds raised by presidential nominees was raised 10 times to 10 million manats ($12 million). The opposition's demand to form election commissions on equal terms was not approved.
Head of the President's Office socio-political department, Ali Hasanov, said the government and CE experts had differences of opinion on the latest feedback. "We don't consider this natural. There are some issues that should be assessed from the standpoint of Azerbaijan's realities, including the Venice Commission's proposals on the composition of election commissions."
Hasanov said it was clear beforehand that the country's political parties would be unable to agree on the issue.
"The most optimal option today is the current make-up of the commissions. The bodies comprise all sides involved - the opposition, the [parliamentary] majority and independent members. This shape-up was sought and found after 2000.
"The Venice Commission believes that election commissions should be more trustworthy for the public. We are all for that. But for the time being, this is the best we can get," the presidential administration official said.
He expressed hope that the professionalism of Azerbaijan's election commissions will improve in the future. "Bipartisan professionals, representatives of electoral institutions, will be doing this work."
Hasanov emphasized that there were no differences on the free assembly law. "The changes and addenda to the Law enable every citizen, political party and force to exercise their right to assemble freely. The only point of discord here is the venue of public gatherings."
Hasanov said the government recognized freedom of assembly as a fundamental right of citizens and is providing suitable conditions for rallies, while taking into consideration the exiting infrastructure and communications in a given residential area of the city.
Hasanov added that the rallies of all political parties, including the ruling party, various blocs and election candidates would take place in the same venues.