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PACE mission assesses pre-election situation in Azerbaijan

13 September 2013 12:08 (UTC +04:00)

APA reports quoting PACE website that the forthcoming election will be held in an apparently competitive environment, with the official number of Presidential hopefuls, yet to be finalized, likely to exceed ten: “At the same time, the lack of credible challengers to the incumbent President has led to the absence of a substantive nationwide debate. Distinctions between the political platforms of would-be opposition candidates are rather vague.”

The statement says that many recommendations made in PACE reports have not been implemented. The Venice Commission recommendation related to the composition of electoral commissions at all levels was never properly addressed: “Despite the problems mentioned, and given that the campaign has not yet started, the delegation is hopeful that, following the vote, it will be in a position to assess the election as meeting the standards of the Council of Europe and seen as reflecting the will of the people of Azerbaijan.

The delegation was in Baku from 10 to 13 September 2013 at the invitation of the Chairman of the Milli Majlis. It met with the candidates, including the incumbent President, the Speaker of Parliament, members of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE, the Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission and the Minister of the Interior, as well as representatives of a cross-section of political parties, NGOs, the media and the diplomatic corps. A full, 32-member PACE observer delegation will be back on 7 October.