Baku. Ramiz Mikayiloghlu – APA. Azerbaijan’s Presidential Administration, the Central Election Commission and the Press Council on Wednesday co-organized a seminar on the role and duties of media outlets in the process of pre-referendum campaign.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had earlier signed an order to hold a referendum on making amendments to the country’s Constitution on September 26, 2016.
Addressing the seminar, CEC Chairman Mazahir Panahov said that the CEC has already approved a calendar schedule on the referendum and registered 3 campaign groups.
He noted that media outlets, which are the main partners of the CEC, play a big part in educating the public about the purpose of the referendum.
In his speech, Ali Hasanov, Azerbaijani president’s aide for public and political affairs, said that so far five referendums have been held in Azerbaijan.
He recalled that the Constitution of Azerbaijan was adopted in 1995, and referendums were held in 2002 and 2009 to make amendments to it.
According to him, making amendments to the constitution is normal. “The constitutions of the US and France had also been amended. Turkey is currently considering making amendments to its constitution,” the top official said.
Hasanov noted that making amendments to the Azerbaijani Constitution is both a necessity and also today’s demand.
President Ilham Aliyev declared the year 2016 ‘year of reforms’ and founded new institutes, the top official said, considering constitutional changes part of the political and economic reforms ongoing in the country.
“The institute of vice presidents that is intended to be established is meant to serve as an optimal institute to ensure execution of decisions,” Hasanov said. “The amendments have clearly defined state functions and duties in the area of entrepreneurship. The lifting of age limit in electoral bodies is a positive step forward.”
Hasanov noted the media is supposed to do a lot for the referendum to be transparent and independent.
He continued: “The media should be active in pre-referendum campaign, which is in the interest of the Azerbaijani state. The role of the media in campaign is determined in the Election Code and the law on media outlets. Reporters are free to observe all stages of election. They can observe at any polling station without accreditation at the CEC and other bodies. They are simply supposed to highlight various positions, especially critical ones.”
Hasanov mentioned that Heydar Aliyev lifted the censure on the media and liquidated the Ministry of Press, and that the State Fund for Support of Mass Media was created instead.
“Together with extra financial assistance, the total of amount of financial assistance allocated for the media numbers around 40 million manats,” he said.
Chairman of the National Television and Radio Council Nushiravan Maharramli mentioned that there were no serious problems during previous elections, noting that no problem is expected to occur during the pre-referendum campaigns, either.
Press Council Chairman Umud Mirzayev said the media as well as civil society institutions are supposed to do a lot in raising public awareness of the essence of the proposed amendments to the constitution.
“The Press Council is working to prevent possible difficulties that may be faced by the media in highlighting the process in an unbiased and fair way. The Council is close contact with the CEC and puts special emphasis on informative efforts about election and referendum,” he added.
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