Election laws amended
The Milli Majlis (the Azerbaijani parliament) passed
a draft law on changes to election laws on Tuesday, a senior
lawmaker has said.
Ali Huseynov, head of the standing parliamentary commission on legal policy and state-building, said the changes and addenda to the country`s Election Code had been forwarded to the legislature by President Ilham Aliyev.
Under the amendments, abuse of power was included in the list of actions that are criminally punishable on charges of illegal interference with the conduct of elections. Moreover, election comissions are now allowed to appeal not only to law-enforcement agencies but also to courts to report irregularities during pre-election campaigns.
Furthermore, state servants and employees of municipalities who are registered to stand in elections could also be held accountable for exceeding their credentials to influence the outcome of elections or referenda.
Huseynov added that the changes were aimed at determining the area of accountability for violations of Azerbaijan`s election laws.
The bill on the Election Code amendments was passed with 94 MPs supporting the measure and five opposing it, although opposition lawmakers did not back the changes.
Ali Huseynov, head of the standing parliamentary commission on legal policy and state-building, said the changes and addenda to the country`s Election Code had been forwarded to the legislature by President Ilham Aliyev.
Under the amendments, abuse of power was included in the list of actions that are criminally punishable on charges of illegal interference with the conduct of elections. Moreover, election comissions are now allowed to appeal not only to law-enforcement agencies but also to courts to report irregularities during pre-election campaigns.
Furthermore, state servants and employees of municipalities who are registered to stand in elections could also be held accountable for exceeding their credentials to influence the outcome of elections or referenda.
Huseynov added that the changes were aimed at determining the area of accountability for violations of Azerbaijan`s election laws.
The bill on the Election Code amendments was passed with 94 MPs supporting the measure and five opposing it, although opposition lawmakers did not back the changes.
Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention.
Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis.
By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more.
Subscribe
You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper
Thank you!