- What is your preliminary assessment of the pre-election situation in the country?
- As with previous elections, the OSCE/ODIHR was invited to observe the 9 October 2013 presidential election in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Our Election Observation Mission began work on 28 August. We have just published our first interim report, which is also available in Azeri on the OSCE website. Our mandate is to observe the election and assess the process in the light of OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections. On the strength of our observation so far, we were able to report that the technical preparations for the election are on track. As a result of recent amendments to the election code, the campaign period has been shortened, so we have witnessed no campaigning as such in a political environment dominated by one political force. We have also taken note of some recent restrictive amendments to the laws governing freedom of assembly and the work of civil society, including increased sanctions for organizing and participating in unauthorized demonstrations.
- During the press conference, you mentioned that a number of the recommendations of the ODIHR in 2008 remain unfulfilled. What kinds of recommendations were not fulfilled?
- With the exception of shortening the complaint and adjudication period, which we welcome, no other previous OSCE/ODIHR recommendations have been addressed in amendments to the law since the 2010 parliamentary elections. One recommendation that has not been addressed concerns the composition of the Central Election Commission and lower-level commissions, including the appointment of chairpersons. With regard to the media, the recommended changes to the law to ensure equitable treatment of election contestants in the news programs of State-owned or funded media have not been made, nor do the previous recommendations by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media appear to have been taken into consideration. Of course some recommendations concern administrative practices related to the election, as well as the treatment of complaints. We will report on their implementation at the end of the process.
- You had a meeting with the presidential candidates, including representatives of the National Council. What issues were discussed during the meetings?
- We have met with seven of the ten presidential candidates, including the candidate of the National Council. With all of them, as with the representatives of two of the candidates we have not yet met, we discussed their assessment of the election environment, media access, and any concerns they might have, such as those relating to existing provisions for the candidate’s election rallies. We also asked them to describe their campaign strategy.
- How does the mission cooperate with the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan?
- Our election analysts have attended all public CEC sessions since the arrival of the mission. They have also followed the work of the CEC´s signature-verification working group, trying to get a clear picture of the processing of signature sheets and the financial declarations of the candidates. Overall, the CEC has shown a welcoming and open attitude towards the mission´s analysts. As I said, many issues concerning the activities of the election administration are still to be observed in the coming weeks, not only in Baku but at the constituency level, where our long term observers have been deployed.
- What is your assessment of the registration process of the presidential candidates?
- On the whole, we have received no complaints from candidates about difficulties or obstacles in the collection of signatures in order to comply with registration requirements. There has been one significant exception, Ilgar Mammadov, the self-nominated candidate who is currently in pre-trial detention and whose candidacy has been rejected on the grounds that he failed to collect the required number of signatures. Our legal analyst will attend appeal hearings related to this process.
- How do you estimate the decision to reject the candidature of the National Council candidate Rustam Ibraghimbekov? And what is your opinion on its legitimacy, does it comply to the rule of law?
- We do not normally comment on the legitimacy of such decisions but, rather, on whether the process guarantees the rights of the complainants. In the case of Mr. Ibrahimbayov, our legal analyst attended the hearings at both the Baku Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. She has spoken with Mr. Ibrahimbayov’s lawyer and the Commission member who represented the CEC in the matter. It is our understanding that Mr. Ibrahimbayov was appealing the CEC decision on his nomination on procedural grounds, arguing that he meets the constitutional requirements to be nominated as candidate for president. As observers we regularly attend court hearings to monitor the appellant’s right to due process.
- Media environment ahead of the elections. How does the mission assess the role of the media in the upcoming election?
- The OSCE/ODIHR EOM media analyst on a mission like ours analyses the general media environment and the legal framework governing the media, as well as conducting extensive media monitoring. In our first Interim Report we address recent changes to the law that negatively affect citizens’ rights to be informed, as well as underlining provisions criminalizing online defamation. We point to the fact that eight journalists are currently in prison, while journalists are reportedly subjected to harassment or even violence. Furthermore, all television stations with nationwide coverage are considered to be government controlled. These are factors that might negatively affect political pluralism on television in general and the possibility for candidates to compete on a level playing field during the campaign period. On 4 September our mission began conducting quantitative and qualitative media monitoring of six television stations and five newspapers, and this monitoring will continue up to and including election day.
- What regions of Azerbaijan OSCE ODIHR observers will attend before and on election day?
- Our observers will be visiting all the regions where the election is taking place.
- What is your previous experience as an election observer? What countries have you worked in?
- When I was a member of the Italian Parliament I participated in 10 election observation missions over 12 years. More recently, I have held the position of Head of Mission for OSCE/ODIHR election assessment missions to the Czech Republic, France, Turkey and Estonia. I have also worked with European Union election observation missions in different capacities, as Head and Deputy Head of Mission, as well as political analyst in countries such as Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Niger, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Before being elected to Parliament I worked for 20 years as a journalist and foreign correspondent.
- Does OSCE ODIHR mission collaborate with other organizations’ observation missions, such as PACE, CIS, GUAM? Does it coordinate its actions with the OSCE PA mission?
- Within the framework of election observation, the OSCE/ODIHR co-operates with a number of international parliamentary and other bodies, particularly the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), as well as, in many instances, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. All three organizations have announced that they will deploy short-term missions to observe the 9 October election. Election day observation will, therefore, be a joint effort with our three partners. As is standard practice, we plan to issue a joint statement of preliminary findings and conclusions on the day after the election. We have met representatives of the CIS executive secretariat and plan further meetings closer to election day. Some two months after the completion of the electoral process, the OSCE/ODIHR will issue a final report, which will contain more detailed information about our findings, as well as offering a number of recommendations to the Azerbaijani authorities on the entire election process.
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