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IFES and the Council of Europe will co-host roundtable on the composition of election commissions November 9 in Baku

26 October 2007 15:59 (UTC +04:00)

IFES Azerbaijan office told APA that Chief of Party Dan Blessington said the event offers the leadership of political parties an opportunity to present their proposals to one another and to civil society organizations in a â€œspirit of mutual respect and openness.â€ The roundtable will follow a two-day session on election complaints and appeals co-organized by the Council of Europeâ€™s Venice Commission and the Central Election Commission.
IFES is a nonpartisan, international democracy development organization. IFES began working to improve Azerbaijanâ€™s election code with local and international partners last December. Its principal partners in reforming the election code are the Government of Azerbaijan, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. The idea for a roundtable devoted solely to the issue of who serves on election commissions arose out of meetings among these partners.
The roundtable follows an event held by IFES in February that brought together representatives of all political forces in the countryâ€”including the ruling and opposition partiesâ€”for an interactive tutorial on the subject of election commission composition. Following this roundtable, political parties and others submitted proposals on election commission composition to IFES and the Venice Commission. Party leaders will have the opportunity to promote their ideas on November 9.
â€œWeâ€™re looking forward to a lively and productive session on November 9th,â€ said Blessington. /APA/