Discussion of additions and amendments to Election Code started in Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan

The parliamentarian Ali Huseynov said that the bill presented by the president Ilham Aliyev would be discussed.

According to his words, the bill consists of the additions and amendments directed to providing transparency of the election process and eliminating the law violations that can occur.

The parliamentarian Alimammad Nuriyev participating in the discussions said that questions causing the society to think had not been reflected among the additions and amendments proposed to EC: “The main attention must be directed to changing the organizing principles of the election commissions, improving the observation institute in the elections and permitting NGOs to the observation process. Probably we will have to discuss these questions again after the international pressures as these questions were not reflected in the bill. The issue of state image is on the focus of attention here”.

A.Nuriyev also considered important that the recommendations of the international organizations related to the additions and amendments to EC should be announced to the society and those opinions should be put into discussion.

The parliamentarian Gudrat Hasanguliyev informed that the persons who thought that it was possible to hold democratic elections by changing the composition of the elections commissions were wrong: “Election Code’s being democratic is the factor in holding the democratic elections. Mutual confidence must present in the country in order to hold the democratic elections. Some international organizations do not want it. I am sure that after these elections some international organizations will have their doubts about the results of the elections and want a confrontation to take place in the country not depending on whether the results of the elections were falsified or not”.

The parliamentarian Jamil Hasanli said that 2 million of the population reached the elector’s age lived abroad and that is why it was illegal to show that 4,5 million persons were the citizens with the elector right in the elections.

The parliamentarian Gulamhuseyn Alibayli said that the government did not intend to hold free elections. According to his words, the amendments proposed by the government are completely of technical character. G.Alibayli said that advanced proposition in the proposed amendments was related to reducing the election deposit.

The head of the office of MM Safa Mirzayev informed that there are speculations by the opposition in the negotiations held with the Venice Commission: “It is not right to treat the Venice Commission as Kremlin. Our work with this commission is organized on the equal basis and this structure is not superior to Azerbaijan. Let no one suspect about free, fair and transparent elections to be held in Azerbaijan”.

The parliamentarian Mubariz Gurbanli informed that every citizen had his right to observe the elections in Azerbaijan. Thousands of NGOs in the country also have this right: “The state interest is most superior in Azerbaijan. The fault of the opposition is their taking shelter of foreign forces than finding shelter of the nation”.

The parliamentarian Musa Musayev informed that if the democratic elections would be held, no one from the opposition would be able to be represented in the parliament: “We know who is engaged in what. Behave yourselves well and protect the interest of the state”. M.Musayev also charged the economic development minister Farhad Aliyev of making harmful declarations: “The economic development minister said that our way is the way to Europe. Such irresponsible speech is unnecessary. Ilham Aliyev is continuing the way of Heydar Aliyev and we do not need any other way. Such opinion should be put an end to. There are sources financing the opposition. I do not want to reveal all facts about those persons”.

The director of the work with the right-protection organs department of the President’s Office Shahin Aliyev informed that the opinions of the Venice Commission was not concealed from the society and any person could get acquainted with these opinions. Shahin Aliyev said that the experts gave abstract recommendations sometimes: “They did not also reply some of our questions. It is not right to describe the public and political life of Azerbaijan in white and black colors”.

The vice-speaker of the parliament Ziyafat Asgarov informed that the opposition should not expect respect from the government if it did not respect the government itself: “Panah Huseynov called the government enemy on TV on that day. You know, it is not right to take part in the elections with the “psychology of water-melon”. Most of the radical oppositionists live with the “water-melon imagination”. We support holding the democratic elections in Azerbaijan. The organizations being financed from the foreign sources will give declarations on the results of the elections under the dictation of others”.