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Latif Huseynov: â€œAzerbaijan will go to 2008 presidential elections with amended Electoral Codeâ€

31 March 2008 16:24 (UTC +04:00)

Latif Huseynov took a stance on the discussions between the official Baku and Venice Commission on the amendments and changes to Azerbaijanâ€™s Electoral Code and law on freedom of assembly and spoke about some details of the agreements.
-What issues are covered in the draft opinion on amendments and changes to Azerbaijanâ€™s Electoral Code adopted at the recent session of the Council of Europe Venice Commission?
-Draft opinion on amendments and changes to Azerbaijanâ€™s Electoral Code was discussed and adopted at the plenary session of the Council of Europe Venice Commission in March. I say draft opinion, because the document has not been adopted yet. The opinion covers amendments and changes to the code. The opinion given in connection with the amendments and changes presented by the Azerbaijani government is generally positive. But there are some remarks. For example, one of the remarks is connected with the accreditation of the organizations conducting exit poll in the Central Election Commission. According to the proposals put forward by Azerbaijani Government, these organizations should be accredited. Venice Commission sees no need for such a registration. Besides, there are proposals on improving the voting procedure of servicemen. The aim of the offer is that the servicemen should vote along with other voters as far as possible. The draft document presented by Azerbaijani Government shows that this practice cannot be applied in the territories having special regime. The opinion has already been presented to Azerbaijani Government. The final variant of the draft law will possibly be presented to the Parliament after the opinion is studied and taken into account. Maybe the amendments and changes to the Electoral Code will be presented to the Parliament together with the amendments to the law on Freedom of Assembly.
-Do the amendments and changes to the Electoral Code cover an item on the composition of election commissions?
-There is no item on the composition of election commissions in the draft document presented by Azerbaijani Government. But the representative of Azerbaijani Government said during the discussions in the Venice Commission that while submitting this document to the Parliament for adoption, this issue might also be presented as a separate item. It means that the issue on the composition of the election commissions can be discussed in the Parliament, while discussing the amendments to the Electoral Code. Generally, there is no unique standard on the composition of the election commissions in Europe. There may be various variants. Venice Commission does not want to go back from the variant on the formation of election commission on parity basis that was once offered formally. But the Government considers that this is a recommendation, it can either be accepted, or not. Azerbaijani side considers that the present Electoral Code is in line with the international standards. The composition of the election commission does not contradict the present standards. But Azerbaijani Government says they are ready for discussions, if there are concrete proposals.
-Was thesis on dipping fingers into ink reflected in the project presented to Venice Commission by Azerbaijani Government?

-Yes, this thesis was shown concretely. There are approximately 10 amendments. I consider that Azerbaijani Government approached to amendments as improvement of election process. Azerbaijan will move to 2008 presidential elections with amendments to Electoral Code.
-What about amendments to the law on Freedom of Assembly?
Venice commission stated its opinion on the amendments to the law on Freedom of Assembly in December, 2007. This is one of the positive opinions of Venice Commission. There is only one remark about this thesis. This is about assembly in front of the Executive Powers. Despite of this remark, amendments to the law on Freedom of Assembly will coincide with European standards. Project presented by Azerbaijani Government says that assemblies should not be held in front of the Executive Powers. The issues are being coordinated with Venice Commission at present and last version will be submitted to Milli Majlis.
-Is it real to establish Committee against Tortures in Azerbaijan?
-Convention against Tortures was adopted by UN in 1984. Facultative protocol has been added to the convention recently. Subcommittee against Tortures has been established according to this protocol. The aim of the committee is to visit detention facilities of member countries and to familiarize with detention condition of prisoners. The states intend to establish national mechanism on it. This Committee can be NGO. The status should be given to it. Officials of the Committee can visit detention facilities at any time and should meet any prisoner there. Azerbaijan has not joined the protocol and it considers this issue at present. I consider that there should not be any problem on the establishment of the committee in Azerbaijan.
-You were elected to Expert Organization in UN some days ago. What can you say about it?
-Election to Expert organization in UN is a success of Azerbaijan. There are 18 experts in this organization. 47 member states of Human Rights Council select these experts. 4 were nominated from 22 -member state Eastern Europe body. 30 states have voted for Azerbaijan. This is the success of Azerbaijani diplomacy. I estimate it as the second success of Azerbaijan after adoption of the resolution on Azerbaijani Occupied Territories.