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Azerbaijan election failed to meet international standards, says OSCE/ODIHR
WARSAW 13 November 2003
WARSAW, 13 November 2003 - A report issued by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights today concludes that the 15 October 2003 presidential election in Azerbaijan failed to meet OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections. The report further states that "the overall process reflected a lack of sufficient political commitment to implement a genuine election process."
"Overall, the presidential election was a missed opportunity for a credible democratic election process. Progress toward democratic elections in Azerbaijan will now depend first and foremost on the political will of the governmental authorities," says the report.
As a first step, "the authorities should pledge publicly that future elections will meet international standards, and that they take concrete steps to convey the sincerity and gravity of this message." The authorities should also recognize the necessity for an independent, thorough and expeditious investigation, resulting in criminal prosecution of those involved with violating the Election Code. Twenty-four other recommendations for addressing the election violations witnessed by the OSCE/ODIHR are contained in the report.
International observers witnessed significant irregularities during voting and widespread fraudulent practices during the counting and tabulation of election results, notably ballot box stuffing and tampering with result protocols at both polling station and constituency levels.
The report also refers to the violence that broke out on election night and the following government crackdown on the opposition in which over 600 persons were detained around the country. "Of particular concern were the detentions and intimidation of many election officials for refusing to sign flawed and fraudulent protocols," says the report.
The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission was headed by Peter Eicher (USA) and included 32 experts and long-term observers from 19 OSCE participating States. On election day, the Election Observation Mission was joined by delegations from the Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE and the Council of Europe. Over 600 short-term observers from 35 countries were deployed on election day, including more than 40 parliamentarians from the two assemblies.
"Overall, the presidential election was a missed opportunity for a credible democratic election process. Progress toward democratic elections in Azerbaijan will now depend first and foremost on the political will of the governmental authorities," says the report.
As a first step, "the authorities should pledge publicly that future elections will meet international standards, and that they take concrete steps to convey the sincerity and gravity of this message." The authorities should also recognize the necessity for an independent, thorough and expeditious investigation, resulting in criminal prosecution of those involved with violating the Election Code. Twenty-four other recommendations for addressing the election violations witnessed by the OSCE/ODIHR are contained in the report.
International observers witnessed significant irregularities during voting and widespread fraudulent practices during the counting and tabulation of election results, notably ballot box stuffing and tampering with result protocols at both polling station and constituency levels.
The report also refers to the violence that broke out on election night and the following government crackdown on the opposition in which over 600 persons were detained around the country. "Of particular concern were the detentions and intimidation of many election officials for refusing to sign flawed and fraudulent protocols," says the report.
The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission was headed by Peter Eicher (USA) and included 32 experts and long-term observers from 19 OSCE participating States. On election day, the Election Observation Mission was joined by delegations from the Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE and the Council of Europe. Over 600 short-term observers from 35 countries were deployed on election day, including more than 40 parliamentarians from the two assemblies.