Islamabad/Pakistan; 01 Feb 2020 – Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan are a regular and consecutive phenomenon since 1991 when the country secured its independence from Soviet Union. Parliamentary elections are being held every 5 years. Last elections were held on 1 November 2015. The result was a victory for the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, which won 69 of the 125 seats. President Ilahm Aliyev
Tenure of the parliament that came into existence in 2015 elections was up to Feb 2020 but the nation was feeling that fresh mandate and fresh representation is necessary to accelerate the reforms introduced by the President Ilahm. A consultative process began in the country and it was noted that early parliamentary elections will be in the best interest of the country.
Azerbaijan is now all set for parliamentary elections on 09 Feb 2020. Central Election Commission has taken all possible measures to make these elections maximum free and fair. CEC has adopted a methodology in which every political party is enjoying the same level playing field with everything open to the public, candidates and the parties.
International observers have been invited from many countries and organizations to the satisfaction of opposition parties. Azerbaijan has developed very close and cordial relations with Pakistan in recent years. Pakistan also attaches great importance to brotherly ties with Azerbaijan. How it was possible that Pakistan remain away from Azerbaijan at such an important occasion of elections of new parliament. The third biggest observer delegation visiting Azerbaijan is from Pakistan including editors, senior journalists, academia, intelligentsia and one member from the parliament of Pakistan.
Ambassador Ali Alizade hosted the members of Pakistani observer delegation at the embassy in Islamabad on 31 Jan 2020. The meeting was meant to brief the members on basic and relevant information about Azerbaijan and elections. Mr. Samir and Mr Elchin from the embassy staff gave a presentation on what steps CEC has taken to hold the elections smoothly and in a satisfactory way for all stakeholders.
Some of many steps taken by CEC are as under;
Registration
1325 parliamentary candidates had been registered as on 31 Jan 2020. By January 31, 312 of the 1637 registered candidates had withdrawn their candidacy.
For transparent and easy registration specially prepared application forms were provided to the candidates. It simplified candidate’s nomination, approval and registration procedures. The CEC booklet called “Memory for Candidates” also provides a detailed explanation of this process.
The process of reviewing the candidates’ documents was transparent to all interested parties and was open to the public. Authorized representatives of political parties and candidates, representatives of international observation missions, and the media were regularly invited to observe the process from the beginning to the end. Almost all the issues related to the shortcomings in the nomination documents were resolved by election commissions in favor of candidates.
Openness and transparency
Central Election Commission has published all information on all stages, including nomination and approval of candidacy, withdrawal and registration of candidates on CEC website. Statistical data and related remarks have been updated on daily basis, which has made a significant contribution to the process of obtaining accurate and detailed information about the process by both the election process participants and the public.
Pluralism and competitiveness
All political forces and citizens have been provided with all necessary conditions to run for elections to the Parliament in accordance with the legislation. In addition to the ruling party, other political parties, including opposition parties, are represented and all political forces were provided with equal conditions and opportunities. A large number of registered candidates (272 on 31 Jan)belong to 19 political parties (YAP, AMIP, AVP, VHP, Musavat, VAP, Umid, ADMP, ASRP, VP, ALDP, ADP, MMP, MDHP, DIP, BAP, BAXCP, BQP, VIP) which is a clear indication of a wide, competitive and pluralistic environment.
Participation of women
The number of women candidates in these elections has doubled compared to the previous elections. While this number in the previous elections to the Milli Majlis in 2015 was 141 (17.9% of the registered candidates), the number of registered women candidates for the parliamentary elections in 2020 is 357 (21.8% of the registered candidates.
Awareness raising projects
The CEC has developed various projects to raise awareness of participants of electoral process:
- Workshops on candidate registration.
- Information session on “Media coverage of elections” – 16 January, 2020.
- Regional workshops on handling appeals on violation of electoral rights – 18 January, 2020.
- Regional workshops on judicial settlement of election disputes – 22 January, 2020.
- Trainings for the lower election commissions – 23 January, 2020.
Accreditation of observers
The process of accreditation of observers is underway. Citizens wishing to observe the elections have to fill out an application form available on the CEC website. By submitting this application form and a photo to the Constituency Election Commission or the Central Election Commission, they obtain the observer statues. So far 1302 person, who intend to monitor the elections in the entire territory of the country, have been accredited by the Central Election Commission. The number of accredited observers in the Constituency Election Commission is 40955. A total of 42257 local observers were accredited (25041 from political parties, 1161 from 15 NGOs, 1696 from candidates, 40 from initiative groups, and 14142 self-nominated).
Transparency in the activities of the Central Election Commission (CEC)
All CEC activities are open and transparent. CEC, through the mass media outlets, regularly informs the public about its decisions and projects. All interested parties, observer missions, representatives of diplomatic corps and media are invited to attend and participate in the Commission’s meetings. Agendas of the Commission’s meetings are communicated to the CEC members as well as interested parties 24 hours in advance. All decisions of the Commission and all other election relation information (including voter’s lists) are promptly publicized through the official website. The decisions taken at the Commission’s meetings are published in the official newspaper.
Handling complaints and appeals
Since the start of the election process, the CEC has received 35 appeals (in 2015 this figure was 98). In many cases, the CEC took decisions in favor of complainants and the number of unsatisfied appeals is only 5. The process of handling of appeals was open to all interested parties. In order to ensure transparency of the process, once the appeal was received by the Commission, relevant information was posted on the CEC website and updated regularly. This contained detailed information on the members of the Expert Group that examined the appeal, the relevant opinion on the conclusion, as well as the CEC decision.
Equal conditions for pre-election campaigning
Necessary steps have been taken to ensure equal opportunities for candidates during their campaign. In accordance with the legislation, open and closed spaces were identified in the territory of each constituency and put at the disposal of candidates. Without asking any permission, and after simply informing the Constituency Election Commission, candidates use these places for meetings with their electors. The number of such places is 272 (136 open and 136 closed). Candidates also hold meetings with their supporters using other places not prohibited by law.
According to the Election Code, the political parties and blocs of political parties having party-nominated candidates registered in more than 60 constituencies are provided with free airtime. The only political party that meets the criteria, the New Azerbaijan Party, has renounced this right for the sake of equality during the pre-election campaign with other political parties and independent candidates running for parliament. The paid campaigning included 40 media outlets, and information on their prices and terms was published on the CEC website for public access. Candidates use social networks more broadly to reach out to voters and to promote their electoral platforms.
Transparency in the use of election funds
Preliminary financial statements of the candidates were submitted to the Constituency Election Commissions along with the candidate’s documents for registrations. These financial statements were published by the Constituency Election Commission on a bulletin board and conditions were ensured for interested parties to access this information
Participation of IDPs
Out of 125 electoral districts in Azerbaijan, no voting will take place in the ten constituencies of the conflict-affected territories. Polling stations of the electoral districts in these territories, which are not or only partially under government control, were relocated since 1993 with other electoral districts of Azerbaijan to facilitate voting for IDPs. IDPs from these territories will vote in 523 specially organized precincts for candidates from their home districts.
Latest
The New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) has revealed the funds collected in connection with elections to Milli Majlis (Parliament).Independent Media Center informs that the special election fund collected AZN 453,000 owing to voluntary donations of individuals. The YAP has submitted a financial report to the CEC in this regard.
