CE issues feedback on Azeri election law changes
The amendments and addenda made to Azerbaijan’s Election Code
comply with the recommendations of the Council of Europe Venice
Commission and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (ODIHR), the CE body said.
The Commission positively assessed the electoral changes in its feedback, saying a number of its suggestions had been taken into account.
At the same time, the CE experts indicated that the amendments did not reflect some of the important suggestions. They are particularly concerned with keeping the composition of election commissions unchanged.
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.
The Venice Commission also said the procedure of reviewing complaints was uncertain, saying a special group of experts would be set up for the purpose. However, it is unknown whether the body will observe fairness in its work and how effectively it will conduct short-term research.
The feedback also disapproved of the fact that election candidates will not be allocated free air-time on the state TV channel. The Commission maintained that this could have an adverse impact on the electoral process. It also voiced concern over the reduction in the term of election campaigns.
The Commission also said the democratic conduct of the October 15 presidential election depended on the political will of the authorities.
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.*
The Commission positively assessed the electoral changes in its feedback, saying a number of its suggestions had been taken into account.
At the same time, the CE experts indicated that the amendments did not reflect some of the important suggestions. They are particularly concerned with keeping the composition of election commissions unchanged.
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.
The Venice Commission also said the procedure of reviewing complaints was uncertain, saying a special group of experts would be set up for the purpose. However, it is unknown whether the body will observe fairness in its work and how effectively it will conduct short-term research.
The feedback also disapproved of the fact that election candidates will not be allocated free air-time on the state TV channel. The Commission maintained that this could have an adverse impact on the electoral process. It also voiced concern over the reduction in the term of election campaigns.
The Commission also said the democratic conduct of the October 15 presidential election depended on the political will of the authorities.
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.*
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