ASSA-Irada,
14, May 2008

A bill on changes and addenda to Azerbaijan's Electoral Code was discussed at the parliamentary commission on legal policy and state-building and submitted to the legislature on Wednesday.

A department head at the Milli Majlis, Latif Huseynov, said a plethora of amendments were introduced to the draft law. A provision banning unlawful interference with the electoral process was supplemented and specific action designated for officials and employees of local bodies committing such violations.

According to the recommendations of international groups, the Central Election Commission (CEC) was granted the credentials to conduct accreditation of organizations willing to hold exit polls.

Another change stipulates that ballot stations could be set up in military units with special regulations only in cases determined by the CEC. Under current legislation, the Defense Ministry was in charge of setting up such polling stations.

Huseynov said the practice of placing ballot papers in envelopes has been removed from election laws, based on the experience gained during the previous elections. The goal of the measure is to simplify voting protocols and repeated vote count.

A number of changes to the Code concern electoral lists. Under the proposals, the rights of citizens who were not included in the lists are to be reinstated not in court but by election commissions.

Some changes are also suggested with regard to the election campaigns of hopefuls. For instance, pre-election campaigning and propaganda on state-owned TV channels and radio stations is forbidden, and is allowed only on Public TV and Radio. Payable campaigns on private TV channels will be conducted in accord with the Law on Advertising.

Under the previous version of the Election Code, presidential nominees were granted six hours for their campaigns on state media free of charge. Moreover, candidates were allowed to campaign on private TV channels over 24 hours.

From now onward, placing pre-election campaign materials on buildings and facilities in large cities will be banned, and they may be placed only in rooms.

Another proposal calls for immediately divulging preliminary results of the election, compared to the previous requirement to make public the outcomes within the ensuing 24 hours. Huseynov said additional articles regulating the procedure of reviewing complaints of voters were also introduced to the Code. The draft law suggests consideration of the complaints by a separate commission.

A group of opposition lawmakers did not approve of the bill. The draft law envisions forming election commissions with equal representation of pro-government and opposition parties and that the CEC comprise 18 members. But MPs from Musavat suggested that the commission comprise nine representatives from the authorities and opposition each, and for the leadership of district electoral commissions to be formed on equal terms.

The other proposed changes were technical.

Musavat MP Panah Huseyn maintained that the amendments would not bring about any substantial changes and fail to ensure democratic conduct of elections. "The changes are not progressive, and the restrictions on election campaigns particularly raise concerns."

He came out against what he called failure to reflect the rules of forming election commissions in the bill. He added that if the draft law is passed in this shape, most of the opposition will boycott the October 15 presidential election.

After the discussions, all but one MP voted in favor of putting the electoral changes on discussion in parliament.