Foreign Ministry: ODIHR has no grounds to express opinion on Azerbaijani election results, in case of not observing it

Foreign Ministry: ODIHR has no grounds to express opinion on Azerbaijani election results, in case of not observing it
# 13 October 2015 07:44 (UTC +04:00)

He was commenting on the statement “Failure to reach agreement on sending election observation mission to Azerbaijan is regrettable” earlier made by the OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier.

Hajiyev said that honoring its obligations before the OSCE, on 14 July 2015 Azerbaijan invited ODIHR to send an observation mission for the upcoming parliamentary elections to be held on November 1.

He said that Azerbaijan also sent a reasoned response to the ODIHR with regard to that structure’s report in connection with the points, with which Azerbaijan didn’t agree.

“The Azerbaijan side regarded some points in the report as wrong and groundless, emphasizing that in accordance with the electoral practice in the OSCE area, the number of observers should be rational and proportional to population of the country, number of voters and constituencies,” Hajiyev noted.

"ODIHR’s sending 400 observers to Azerbaijan, which has a population of 9.5 million and 125 constituencies, isn’t logical"

“Thus, ODIHR’s sending 400 observers to Azerbaijan, which has a population of 9.5 million and 125 constituencies, isn’t logical,” he said.

Hajiyev added that the ODIHR hasn’t yet been able to give a logical explanation to the discrepancy between the number of observers and the number of population and voters.

“For comparison, the ODIHR sent 600 observers to Ukraine (50 million population) for elections held on 26 October 2014, 200 observers – to Russia (150 million population) for elections on 4 December 2011, 12 observers – to Bulgaria for elections held on 5 October 2015, 12 observers – to Serbia for elections on 16 March 2014 and 12 observers to Uzbekistan for elections on 21 December 2014,” he said.

The ODIHR has not yet been able to give a logical explanation for the discrepancy between the number of observers and the number of population and voters, Hajiyev further stressed.

“Instead, the ODIHR management unilaterally, without consultations, and in flagrant violation of the mandate, decided not to observe the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan,” he said.

Hajiyev noted that in accordance with the Helsinki document, adopted in 1992, the main role of the ODIHR is to assist member states in the implementation of commitments in the field of human rights.

The spokesman said the decision of the OSCE Budapest Summit of 1994 defined the role of OSCE/ODIHR to fulfill the functions of a consultant. The Budapest document states: “The ODIHR, as the main institution of the human dimension, in consultation with the Chairman-in-Office, will, acting in an advisory capacity, participate in discussions of the Permanent Council, by reporting at regular intervals on its activities and providing information on implementation issues. Acting in close consultation with the Chairman-in-Office, the Director of the ODIHR may propose further action.”

“As can be seen, the ODIHR has no authority to take a unilateral decision, without consultation with the Chairman-in-Office and relevant member state,” added Hajiyev.

As a result, being an executive structure, the ODIHR has taken a political decision beyond its powers and mandate, according to Hajiyev.

“This once again shows that the ODIHR management, under the influence of certain circles, deliberately politicizes technical issues such as the election observation. Obviously, the purpose is to prepare a platform to make groundless claims against Azerbaijan after the elections,” said the spokesman.

The ODIHR, under the fundamental documents and mandate of the OSCE, should present to the Permanent Council constructive proposals after consulting with the Chairman-in-Office and relevant member state, said Hajiyev.

“Azerbaijan is committed to the principles of dialogue and cooperation with OSCE. The invitation sent to the OSCE/ODIHR regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections remains in force,” he completed.

#
#

THE OPERATION IS BEING PERFORMED