Parliamentary Assembly
Assemblée parlementaire

Doc. 10941
31 May 2006

Bureau of the Assembly

AD HOC COMMITTEE TO OBSERVE THE PARTIAL RE-RUN OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN AZERBAIJAN

(13 May 2006)

Rapporteur: Mr Leo Platvoet (Netherlands / UEL)

Progress was observed in the conduct of voting on Election Day during the partial re-run of the Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan on 13 May 2006. The ad hoc Committee was not sufficient in size to make a comprehensive assessment of the vote count and tabulation processes but irregularities reported to it by other observer missions should be fully investigated. Control over, and interference with, the electoral process by third parties, including representatives of local executive powers, as well as economic pressures, remain a point of concern.

I.       Introduction

1.       Following the adoption by the Assembly on 25 January 2006 of Resolution 1480 (2006), in which the Assembly decided to observe the partial re-run of the Parliamentary Elections in Azerbaijan scheduled for 13 May 2006, the Bureau of the Assembly decided to reconstitute the ad hoc Committee for the observation of the Parliamentary Elections in Azerbaijan and re-appointed me as its chairperson and rapporteur. On 10 April 2006, the Bureau of the Assembly decided to reduce the number of members of the ad hoc committee which were to observe these elections to 20.

2.       Based on proposals by the political groups in the Assembly, the ad hoc Committee was composed as follows:

Socialist Group (SOC)

Mr Sead AVDIĆ       Bosnia & Herzegovina
Mme Elvira CORTAJARENA       Spain
Lord John TOMLINSON       United Kingdom

Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD)

M. Pedro AGRAMUNT       Spain
M. Jean-Guy BRANGER       France
Mr Andrezj GRZYB       Poland
Mr Eduard LINTNER       Germany
Mme Rosmarie ZAPFL-HELBLING       Switzerland

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)

M. Fiorello PROVERA       Italy
M. Johannes RANDEGGER       Switzerland
M. Paul WILLE       Belgium

European Democrat Group (EDG)

Mr Mevlüt ÇAVUŞOĞLU       Turkey
Mr Robert WALTER       United Kingdom
Mr Emmanuelis ZINGERIS       Lithuania

Group of the Unified European Left (UEL)

Mr Leo PLATVOET       Netherlands
Mr Doros CHRISTODOULIDES       Cyprus

Secretariat

Mr Bas KLEIN, Deputy to the Head of Secretariat of the Interparliamentary Co-operation Unit
Ms Daniele Gastl, Assistant

3.       Unlike the Parliamentary Elections in Azerbaijan on 6 November 2005, no International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) was constituted for the observation of the partial re-run of these elections on 13 May 2006. The Organisation for Co-operation and Security in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) established a Limited Election Observation Mission (LEOM), without deploying short term observers, for these elections. The Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE (OSCE-PA) sent a four member assessment mission. During its stay in Baku the ad hoc Committee held regular exchanges of information with both OSCE/ODIHR LEOM and delegation of the OSCE-PA

4.       The ad hoc Committee met in Baku from 12 to 14 May 2006, and held, inter alia, meetings with representatives of the main parties participating in these elections, the Chairman of the CEC, the Head of the limited election observation mission of the OSCE/ODIHR and his staff, as well as representatives of the civil society. The programme of the meetings of the ad hoc Committee appears in Appendix 1.

5.       On Election Day the ad hoc Committee was split into 10 teams which observed elections in Sumgait (Constituencies #42 and #41), Surakhani (#31), Binagadi (#9), Agdam Village (#119) and Zagatala (#110) .

6.       In order to draw up an assessment of the preparations for and political climate in the run-up to the elections, the Bureau sent a pre-electoral mission to Azerbaijan on 27 and 28 April 2006. The pre-electoral mission, which was composed of one representative from each Political Group in the Assembly, consisted of Mr Leo Platvoet (Netherlands, UEL), Ms Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold (Switzerland, SOC), Mr Eduard Lintner (Germany, EPP/CD), Mr Fiorello Provera (Italy, ALDE) and Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (Turkey, EDG). In Baku the pre-electoral delegation met with, inter alia, representatives of political parties participating in these elections, the first vice-Speaker of the Parliament, the Chairman of the CEC, the Minister of the Interior, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor General, the National Delegation of Azerbaijan to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission, members of the international community in Azerbaijan, as well as representatives of the mass media and civil society. In the statement issued by the pre-election mission at the end of its visit, the delegation expressed concern about the lack of signs of democratic progress in the run-up to the partial re-run of the Parliamentary elections. The statement issued by the pre-election mission appears in Appendix 2.

7.       The ad hoc Committee concluded that while progress was observed in the conduct of voting on Election Day during the partial re-run of the Parliamentary Elections in Azerbaijan on 13 May 2006, the size of the ad hoc Committee did not allow it to make a comprehensive observation, and therefore assessment, of the vote count and tabulation processes. The statement issued by the ad hoc Committee after these elections appears in Appendix 3.

8.       The ad hoc Committee wishes to thank the Parliament of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, the Romanian Ambassador to Azerbaijan representing the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in Azerbaijan, for their co-operation and support provided to the ad hoc Committee and its pre-election mission.

II.       Political context

9.       Parliamentary elections took place in Azerbaijan on 6 November 2005. Despite some improvements in the pre-electoral period these elections were considered to be seriously flawed by international observers and in the opinion of the Assembly failed to meet a number of Council of Europe and other international standards for democratic elections.

10.       On 23 November 2005, the Central Election Commission (CEC) cancelled the results in 4 constituencies, and on 1 December 2005, the Constitutional Court cancelled the results in an additional 6, on the grounds that the irregularities and violations had changed the outcome of the elections in those constituencies. Subsequently, on 9 December 2005, the President of Azerbaijan issued a decree ordering a re-run of the elections in those 10 Constituencies on 13 May 2006.

11.       While violations and irregularities resulted in the cancellation of the results in 10 constituencies, in a significant number of other constituencies the results and their subsequent ratification by CEC and Constitutional Court can also be challenged on the basis of the findings by the IEOM for the November elections, of which the Assembly was a part. This rapporteur regrets that the Constitutional Court failed to provide the pre-electoral delegation with information regarding the basis for its decision to cancel the results in 6 constituencies and to ratify the results in others.

12.        At its January 2006 part-session, the Assembly adopted Resolution 1480 (2006), in which it concluded that with the conduct of the November 2005 elections, Azerbaijan had failed to honour the obligations and commitments it undertook to observe when joining the Council of Europe. In this resolution the Assembly requested that the Azerbaijani authorities conduct a full and transparent investigation into all instances of reported electoral fraud during the November elections, to reform its electoral code in line with recommendations made by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and to fully guarantee freedom of assembly and expression as well as pluralism in the electronic media. Regrettably, during its visit to Baku on 27 and 28 April the pre-electoral mission of the Assembly detected little proof of the existence of the political will so far to make progress in the areas requested by the Assembly.

13.       The opposition was divided over the question of whether to take its seats in the Parliament elected in November and participate in the partial re-run of the elections. The Musavat party accepted to take its seats in the incoming parliament and left the Azadlig Bloc whose other members decided to boycott the new Parliament. The YES Bloc disappeared when one of its members, the Azerbaijan National Independence Party split into two, with one wing joining the Azadlig Bloc and the other wing registering itself as a new party. The National Unity Movement also refused to take its seats in the incoming parliament and joined the Azadlig Bloc. The Azadlig Bloc decided that it would boycott the partial re-run of the Parliamentary elections on 13 May 2006. The decision to boycott the parliament and partial re-run of the elections is neither constructive nor conducive to the development of the democratic process in Azerbaijan and narrowed the electorate’s choice on Election Day.

14       Investigations into electoral fraud during the November elections have only resulted in a limited number of prosecutions. However, the fact that, for the first time in the history of Azerbaijan, electoral fraud and violations of the electoral code have been reportedly prosecuted and punished according to the law, should be welcomed. The pre-electoral mission was not able to receive any detailed information regarding the investigations as well as handling of election related appeals, including the basis on which decisions were reached. The Azerbaijani authorities should continue their efforts to give full disclosure to the international community and Azerbaijani public regarding the investigations and appeals process in this respect.

III.       Legal Context and Election Administration

15.       The partial re-run of the Parliamentary elections took place under the same corpus of laws that governed the Parliamentary elections on 6 November 2005. No changes to these laws were made between the November 2005 elections and the partial re-run on 13 May 2006. The observations made in the report of the ad hoc Committee for the November 2005 elections with respect to these laws therefore remain fully valid.

16.       The election commissions were composed according to the provisions in the amended election Code of 2005 and not according to the transitional provisions, as had been the case during the November elections. According to the provisions in the electoral code, the Central Election Commission is composed of 18 members, 6 of which are appointed by the ruling party, 6 by the opposition parties represented in Parliament and 6 by the independent members in the Parliament. In addition, one of the independent members of the CEC should be appointed in agreement with the ruling party and 1 in agreement with the opposition parties. The composition of the Constituency Election Commissions (ConECs), which consist of 9 members, and the Precinct Election Commissions (PECs), which consist of 6 members, follow that of the CEC. The chairpersons of all election commissions as well as the deputy chairperson of the CEC are elected by simple majority by members of the election commissions.

17.       While the current provisions in the electoral code are an improvement over the transitional provisions, they continue to favour pro-government parties in the composition of the electoral commissions and therefore fail to provide for an election administration that has the full confidence of all electoral stakeholders in its unbiased functioning.

18.        Regrettably, the main opposition parties decided not to appoint their representatives on the election commissions. As a result of the formula for the composition of the election commissions and the refusal of the opposition parties to nominate their representatives, the pro-government parties enjoyed a decision-making majority on, as well as a majority of the chairpersons of, all election commission during these elections.

19.       The CEC held regular meetings which were open to the public and met most of the deadlines for the technical preparations for these elections as stipulated in the election code.

IV.        Pre-election period and Candidate and Voter Registration

20.       In line with the elections of November 2005, the candidate registration process was inclusive and largely trouble free. The ad hoc Committee received some reports that pressure was put on prospective candidates to withdraw or that candidates had been deregistered for these elections without proper hearing or sufficient time for proper appeal. While the ad hoc Committee was not in a position to confirm or disprove these allegations, it hopes that the Azerbaijani authorities will fully investigate these reports, not least as a measure to ensure public confidence in all aspects of the election process.

21.        The accuracy of the voters’ list seemed to have improved in the 10 constituencies where the re-run of the Parliamentary elections took place. A number of voters still could not find their names on the list, but in the majority of cases this was satisfactorily resolved with a Court Order for the voter to be added to the voters’ list on Election Day.

22.       The election campaign was generally low key, and largely incident-free in contrast to the November 2005 elections. However, due to the relatively low stakes in these elections, as well as the decision of opposition parties to boycott these elections, the limitations in the law on freedom of assembly were not put to the test.

23.       As was the case during the November elections, the involvement of business interests in the elections was a point of concern, especially in the light of the absence of proper provisions regarding financial disclosure for candidates and parties competing in the elections.

24.       According to interlocutors met by the pre-electoral mission, the situation in the media has not changed significantly since the November elections. Relatively little coverage was given to the electoral campaign in the national media, and electronic and print media continued to show bias is favour of one party or the other.

V.       Election day - Vote count and tabulation

25.       On Election Day the vote was in general conducted in a well organised and calm manner. The voting procedures were evaluated as bad in 18% and good or very good in 82% of the 108 polling stations visited by the ad hoc Committee. These figures are similar to those for the November elections where the voting proceedings were evaluated as bad in 13% and as good or very good in 87% of cases.

26.        Pressure on voters to vote was observed. Unidentified persons, sometimes representing main employers and local executive authorities, registered voters who had voted. In a significant number of polling stations, voters’ invitations were stamped by the election commissions as proof to local executive authorities, employers and other parties that the voter had come to vote. Such pressure is a violation of the electoral law of Azerbaijan.

27.       In some polling stations unauthorised persons were found to interfere in the work of the election commissions. When asked a number of those identified themselves as representatives of local executive authorities or as party observers. This raises serious questions about the control over, and interference in, the election process by third parties.

28.       In general, the procedures for the inking of voters’ fingers, an important mechanism to prevent multiple voting, were better applied than during the November elections. However, in a number of cases polling station officials were observed not to check for ink on voters’ fingers or voters were allowed to vote without showing their ID card, in contravention of the electoral law.

29.       The ad hoc Committee was not large enough to make a comprehensive assessment of the vote count and tabulation processes. However, other observers, including the OSCE/ODIHR LEOM noted a number of irregularities in the conduct of the vote count and tabulation process during these elections. In a welcome development, the CEC published the results per polling station on its official website for public scrutiny the day after the elections.

30.       The ad hoc Committee received officially signed copies of the election protocols of three polling stations. In one case the results matched those published by the CEC for that polling station, in another case, in contravention to the law, the constituency and polling station number were not entered on the protocol, and in yet another case it states to be the protocol of a polling station that according the CEC does not exist. This limited sample does raise some questions with regard to the handling of protocols by the election commissions.

31.       The expected turnout for these elections was an issue of political debate before these elections with some interlocutors expecting a low turnout as result of low public confidence in the electoral process. The final turnout of 36,4 % - the lowest in #9 with 19.07% and the highest in #110 with 59,30% - did not significantly differ from the turnout during the November elections which was 42.20%, although the observed pressure on voters to come and vote may have contributed to this.

32.       As was the case for the November elections, exit polls were conducted on Election Day. However the staff conducting the exit poll for one organisation seemed mostly to consist of members of the ruling party, which raises some doubts about their accuracy as well as intended use.

VIII.       Conclusions and recommendations

32.        Progress was observed in the conduct of voting on Election Day during the partial re-run of the Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan on 13 May 2006. The ad hoc Committee was not large enough to make a comprehensive assessment of the vote count and tabulation processes but the irregularities reported to it by other observer missions should be fully investigated. Control over, and interference in, the electoral process by third parties, including representatives of local executive powers and economic interests, remain a point of concern.

34.       The reform of the electoral code is a crucial pre-requisite for elections in Azerbaijan to take place according to Council of Europe standards and commitments. In a welcome development, the Presidential administration has requested, albeit at a late stage, the assistance of the Venice Commission with the reform of the electoral code of Azerbaijan. However, this request for assistance should be followed up in the coming months by the actual implementation of the recommendations of the Venice Commission as proof of Azerbaijan’s genuine commitment to democratic reform.

35.       The provisions for the composition of the election Commissions in the Electoral Law should be amended in order to ensure an election administration that has the full confidence of the electorate and all electoral stakeholders. In addition, the authorities should ask for the assistance of the Venice Commission in further developing the procedure for an efficient handling of election-related complaints and appeals.

36.       The Law on Freedom of Assembly continues to give disproportional discretion to local executive authorities in agreeing to accept requests for campaign activities and their venues. This undermines the principle of freedom of assembly which is an essential component of a democratic society. The Law on Freedom of Assembly should therefore be amended as part of the requested co-operation with the Venice Commission.

37.       The Azerbaijani authorities should continue their efforts to make public the full results of the investigations in electoral fraud during the November 2005 elections, as well as the basis for decisions on appeals made during these and the November elections. The possibility for the public to fully scrutinise the investigations and handling of election related appeals will help regain public confidence in the electoral process.

38.       Elections are an essential part of a democratic society based on the rule of law. The authorities should ensure the development of a genuinely democratic society in Azerbaijan based on the rule of law in line with the commitments it subscribed to when joining the Council of Europe.

Appendix 1

AS/Bur/ AH AZ (2006) 2
25 April 2006

AD HOC COMMITTEE TO OBSERVE THE PARTIAL RERUN OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN AZERBAIJAN

PRE-ELECTION MISSION
26 to 29 April 2006

Programme

Wednesday, 26 April 2006

Evening
Arrival of the members of the delegation. Transfers to:

Park Inn Baku
1 Azadlig Avenue
Baku AZ1000
Azerbaijan

Tel: (994 12) 490 6000
Fax: (994 12) 496 8900

Thursday, 27 April 2006

09.00       Delegation Meeting (Breakfast meeting)

10.00       Meeting with the members of the Delegation of the Milli Mejlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the PACE

11.30       Meeting with the Ambassador Ahrens, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission and Ambassador Pavesi, Head of the OSCE Presence in Azerbaijan

12.30       Lunch

14.00       Meeting with Mr. Mazahir Panahov, Chairman of Central Election Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan

15.00       Meeting with Mr. Ramil Usubov, Minister of Internal Affairs of the        Republic of Azerbaijan

16.00       Meeting with Mrs. Salmanova Sona, Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan

17.30       Meeting with Ambassadors of Council of Europe member States hosted by the Ambassador of Romania in Baku (Embassy of Romania)

Friday, 28 April 2006

08.00       Breakfast

09.00       Individual meetings with the parties (Council of Europe Information Office):

11.00       Meeting with Coordinating Advisory Council for Free and Fair Elections - Arzu Abdullayeva, Rafael Gumbatov, Ali Abbasov, Chingiz Dadashev (Council of Europe Information Office)

12.00       Meeting with representatives of the mass media (Council of Europe Information Office)

13.00       Lunch

14.30       Meeting with Mr.Zakir Garalov, General Prosecutor of the Republic of Azerbaijan

15.45       Meeting with Mr. Mahmud Mamad-Guliyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan

--:--        Meeting with Mr Ziyafat Asgarov, first Deputy Speaker (tbc)

17.30       Press Conference

Saturday, 29 April 2006

Departure of the members of the delegation

Appendix 2

PACE pre-electoral delegation concerned with lack of signs of progress in the run-up to the partial re-run of the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan

Strasbourg, 28.04.2006 – The pre-electoral delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is concerned with the lack of signs of democratic progress in the run-up to the partial re-run of the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan scheduled for 13 May 2006.

The parliamentary elections on 6 November 2005, in the opinion of the Assembly and other international observers, despite some improvements in the pre-electoral period, were seriously flawed and failed to meet a number of Council of Europe standards regarding democratic elections. Following the November elections the Assembly adopted Resolution 1480 (2006) in which it concluded that Azerbaijan had persistently failed to honour the obligations and commitments it took upon itself when it joined the Council of Europe. The Assembly therefore reserved itself the possibility to reconsider the ratified credentials of the national delegation of Azerbaijan to PACE during its June session, on the basis of a report on the progress made by the Azerbaijani authorities, in order to ensure that the re-run in the ten constituencies fully abides by democratic principles. In particular the resolution specifies that the Azerbaijani authorities should make a full and transparent investigation of reported electoral fraud during the November elections, reform its electoral code in line with the recommendations made by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and fully guarantee freedom of assembly and expression as well as pluralism in the electronic media.

The partial re-run of the parliamentary elections in ten constituencies on 13 May 2006 is therefore crucial for the Azerbaijani authorities to show that they have the political will to commit themselves to democratic standards and to honour the commitments Azerbaijan voluntarily accepted when it joined the Council of Europe. However the delegation would like to stress that while in only ten constituencies electoral fraud was officially recognised to have changed the outcome of the elections, the results in a significant number of other constituencies can also be questioned.

The delegation regrets the low visibility of the electoral campaign and the apparent lack of interest of the public in the upcoming elections in the ten constituencies. This could be seen as a sign of a lack of public confidence in the electoral process after the November elections. The authorities should therefore seize all opportunities offered with the partial re-run of these elections on 13 May to restore public confidence in the democratic process in Azerbaijan.

Regrettably the pre-electoral mission of the Assembly, during its visit to Azerbaijan on 27 and 28 April 2006, could detect little proof of the existence of the political will to make progress in the areas demanded by the Assembly.

The pre-electoral mission would therefore like to make the following recommendations to the Azerbaijani authorities:

i.        The reform of the electoral code is a crucial pre-requisite to ensure that future elections will take place according to Council of Europe standards and commitments. The Azerbaijani authorities should therefore, without delay and before the upcoming re-run of the elections, make an official request to the Venice Commission for co-operation on the reform of the electoral law. The authorities should make it clear that as part of this co-operation, they are willing to change the composition of the election commissions in such a manner that the election administration has the full confidence of all electoral stakeholders. In addition, the authorities should ask for the assistance of the Venice Commission in further developing the procedure for an efficient handling of election-related complaints and appeals.

ii.       The Law on Freedom of Assembly continues to give disproportional discretion to local executive authorities in agreeing to accept requests for campaign activities and their venues. The Azerbaijani authorities should make it clear in their request to the Venice Commission that they are willing to amend the Law on Freedom of Assembly in order to bring it into line with accepted European standards.

iii.       The investigations into electoral fraud during the November elections have only resulted in a limited number of prosecutions. The authorities should continue their efforts to give full disclosure to the public and international community regarding the investigations made and conclusions reached. In this respect the ad hoc committee deplores the failure of the Constitutional Court to clarify the criteria according to which it decided to cancel the results in six constituencies and accepted the results in others. The delegation hopes that the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as he did before the November elections, will make a public statement before the upcoming elections that any reports of violations of the election law will be fully investigated and, where any are found, the perpetrators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

The pre-electoral delegation would like to stress that implementation of these recommendations by the Azerbaijani authorities is not only necessary to meet the demands made by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Most of all they are crucial to restore the confidence of the Azerbaijani public and electoral stakeholders in the democratic process by showing a clear political will on the part of the Azerbaijani authorities to abide by the rules and commitments of a full and genuinely democratic member of the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe and the Azerbaijani authorities should continue their co-operation to improve electoral practices in Azerbaijan, also when these elections are over. The pre-electoral delegation is convinced that there is still enough time for the Azerbaijani authorities to implement democratic reform and to show, with the conduct of the upcoming election re-run, their commitment to the development of a democratic society in Azerbaijan.

The pre-electoral delegation would like to reiterate the support of the Assembly for the democratic development of Azerbaijan. The Parliamentary Assembly will therefore deploy a twenty-member delegation to observe the partial re-run of the parliamentary elections on 13 May 2006.

The pre-electoral mission of the Parliamentary Assembly visited Azerbaijan from 27 to 28 April 2006 in order to assess the political climate and preparations in the run up to the partial re-run of the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan on 13 May 2006. The pre-electoral mission, which is composed of a representative of each of the five political groups in the Assembly, consisted of:

Appendix 3

Azerbaijan election partial re-run: progress in conduct of voting during election day

Baku, 14.05.2006 - Based on its observations during the partial re-run of the Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan on 13 May 2006 the 20-member ad hoc Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to observe these elections, chaired by Leo Platvoet (Netherlands, UEL), concluded that there was progress in the conduct of voting during election day for the partial re-run of the Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan on 13 May 2006.

In line with the November elections the conduct of the candidate registration process was inclusive. The ad hoc Committee regrets the decision of certain opposition parties to boycott these elections and not to field candidates. This denies the electorate the fullest pluralistic choice.

The electoral campaign for the partial re-run of these elections was generally low key and took place without the incidents that marred the November elections. This is a welcome development, albeit in far less demanding circumstances than during the elections on 6 November 2005.

On election day the vote was conducted in a generally well organised and professional manner. The ad hoc Committee in this respect especially welcomes that the procedures for the inking of the voters’ fingers, an important mechanism to prevent multiple voting, were well implemented in the majority of the polling stations. From the observations on election day the accuracy of the voters’ list for these elections seems to have been significantly improved. Only very few voters could not find their names on the voters’ lists and the majority of these cases were satisfactorily resolved with an order from the Courts.

Social and economic power supported by local executive authorities may have led to undue influence on voters.

The ad hoc Committee was not of a sufficient size to make a comprehensive assessment of the vote count and tabulation processes. It expresses the hope that irregularities with the tabulation and protocols, as witnessed during the November elections, will not take place.

The partial re-run of the Parliamentary elections took place in 10 constituencies where electoral fraud was officially recognised to have changed the outcome of the elections on 6 November 2005. However it should be stressed that the results of the November elections in a significant number of other constituencies can also be questioned. The conduct of these re-run elections should therefore be seen in the context of the elections of 6 November 2005. Progress by the Azerbaijani authorities on the improvement of electoral processes, as demanded by the Assembly when it adopted Resolution 1480 at its January 2006 part-session, should therefore be an integral part of the assessment of these elections.

The pre-electoral mission of the Assembly that visited Azerbaijan on 27 and 28 April 2006 was concerned with the lack of signs of democratic progress in the run-up of these elections. However, the ad hoc Committee welcomes that some positive developments have taken place since the visit of the pre-electoral delegation.

The reform of the electoral code is a crucial pre-requisite for elections in Azerbaijan to take place according to Council of Europe standards and commitments. In a welcome development the Presidential administration has requested, albeit at a late stage, the assistance of the Venice Commission with the reform of the electoral code of Azerbaijan. However, this request for assistance should be followed in the coming months by the actual implementation of the recommendations of the Venice Commission as proof of Azerbaijan’s genuine commitment to democratic reform.

The provisions for the composition of the election commissions in the Electoral Law should be amended in order to ensure an election administration that has the full confidence of the electorate and all electoral stakeholders. In addition, the authorities should ask for the assistance of the Venice Commission in further developing the procedure for an efficient handling of election-related complaints and appeals.

The Law on Freedom of Assembly continues to give disproportional discretion to local executive authorities in agreeing to accept requests for campaign activities and their venues. This undermines the principle of freedom of assembly which is an essential component of a democratic society. The Law on Freedom of Assembly should therefore be amended as part of the requested co-operation with the Venice Commission.

Elections are an essential part of a democratic society based on the rule of law. The authorities should ensure the development of a genuinely democratic society in Azerbaijan based on the rule of law in line with the commitments it subscribed to when joining the Council of Europe.

The Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly will submit a report to the June part-session of the Assembly on the progress made by Azerbaijan to the demands made by the Assembly in Resolution 1480 (2006)

Contact: Bas Klein, mobile in Azerbaijan +33 662 265 489, E-mail: [email protected]