PACE not to table Azeri polls
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) will not put on its agenda for discussion the presidential
election held in Azerbaijan at its winter session.
"The standing committee of PACE has thoroughly discussed the election on Friday, and the report prepared by the observation mission has been adopted," the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE, Samad Seyidov, told a press conference Tuesday.
He noted that Lluis Maria de Puig, President of PACE, had said during discussions that the Azerbaijani people had clearly and openly expressed their will and elected their president. Puig added "if we include these opinions in the final report, it means that the election was held in accordance with the principles of the Council of Europe and democratic standards."
Seven candidates stood in the October 15 election. Incumbent President Ilham Aliyev was overwhelmingly re-elected for a second five-year term, winning 88.7% of votes. Among six other hopefuls, the closest rival won only 2.7% of the popular vote.
The PACE winter session was initially expected to discuss the election.
Seyidov, who also acts as the group`s vice-president, said PACE observers linked the non-participation of opposition parties in the elections with their comprehending beforehand that they stood no chances to win. This conclusion was made in the final report of the PACE observation mission. According to him, the document, which was discussed at the meeting of the assembly`s bureau and standing committee, said another reason for the opposition`s boycott of the October 15 vote was its trying to make a political move ahead of the next parliamentary election. Seyidov added that the CE had also called on Azerbaijani opposition parties, for the first time, to conduct dialog in their midst.
The Opposition Cooperation Center - a bloc comprising the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, Musavat, the Liberal and Civil and Development Parties, and Public Forum for Azerbaijan - boycotted the presidential election, while other opposition parties that stood in the elections did not succeed.
The main opposition parties explained their boycott with the alleged lack of equal conditions for all political forces in the country.
"The standing committee of PACE has thoroughly discussed the election on Friday, and the report prepared by the observation mission has been adopted," the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE, Samad Seyidov, told a press conference Tuesday.
He noted that Lluis Maria de Puig, President of PACE, had said during discussions that the Azerbaijani people had clearly and openly expressed their will and elected their president. Puig added "if we include these opinions in the final report, it means that the election was held in accordance with the principles of the Council of Europe and democratic standards."
Seven candidates stood in the October 15 election. Incumbent President Ilham Aliyev was overwhelmingly re-elected for a second five-year term, winning 88.7% of votes. Among six other hopefuls, the closest rival won only 2.7% of the popular vote.
The PACE winter session was initially expected to discuss the election.
Seyidov, who also acts as the group`s vice-president, said PACE observers linked the non-participation of opposition parties in the elections with their comprehending beforehand that they stood no chances to win. This conclusion was made in the final report of the PACE observation mission. According to him, the document, which was discussed at the meeting of the assembly`s bureau and standing committee, said another reason for the opposition`s boycott of the October 15 vote was its trying to make a political move ahead of the next parliamentary election. Seyidov added that the CE had also called on Azerbaijani opposition parties, for the first time, to conduct dialog in their midst.
The Opposition Cooperation Center - a bloc comprising the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, Musavat, the Liberal and Civil and Development Parties, and Public Forum for Azerbaijan - boycotted the presidential election, while other opposition parties that stood in the elections did not succeed.
The main opposition parties explained their boycott with the alleged lack of equal conditions for all political forces in the country.
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