NGOs raise concerns about administration of Azerbaijan's election

10/14/03

The central question surrounding Azerbaijan's October 15 presidential election is whether they will be free and fair. Opposition activists contend the government is preparing to falsify vote totals. Meanwhile, a report prepared by the US-based National Democratic Institute has expressed concern about the impartiality of the officials charged with administering the balloting and counting the votes.

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) cited several shortcomings in the composition of election commissions in Azerbaijan, both on the district and the precinct level. In an October 10 report, the last of a series covering Azerbaijan's election campaign, NDI said: "The formation of district election commissions (DECs) has raised questions about ... the prospects for fair administration of election laws."

Specifically, NDI said that opposition representatives do not enjoy the proper level representation on DECs as mandated by law. Under Azerbaijan's election code, DECs must "include at least one member of each of the three minority parties now in parliament." Those three parties are the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP), the Citizen Consolidation Party (CCP) and the Communist Party (CP).

"There are 124 DECs in the country and it was previously agreed that 41 positions would each go to the APFP and CCP, and 42 to the CP," the NDI report said. "However, it was reported that the APFP received only 27 positions, the CCP 41 and the CP 56. These numbers indicate a departure from the election code."

NDI, which has received funding for its Azerbaijan programs from the US Agency for International Development, went on to characterize the composition of precinct election commissions (PECs) as "problematic." Many top PEC officials, the NDI report contends, are potentially vulnerable to pressure exerted by Heidar Aliyev's administration, which is seeking to secure voter approval a dynastic transition of power. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Citing the Sumgait-Absheron district as an example, the NDI report said many precinct chairmen are state-employed school directors. "As government employees, these precinct election representatives may be subject to bias," NDI said.

In addition, PECs have violated the country's election law by not allowing for proper inspection of preliminary voter lists. Under Article 48.1 of the election code, voter lists should have been posted for public scrutiny no later than September 10. "To date, only a few have been posted. The public has not had the opportunity to correct mistakes that may be on the lists," the NDI report said. "Such a practice in other countries in the region has resulted in a large number of ‘dead souls' voting."

NDI also raised questions about the propriety of Ilham Aliyev's candidacy. NDI cited two legal provisions – one barring a member of the government from running for elective office, and another that prohibits executive branch officials from simultaneously serving as a member of parliament.

"Ilham Aliyev submitted documents taking a leave of absence from his post as prime minister, which has allowed him to be a member of parliament," the NDI report said. "However, a member of parliament qualifies as being a government official and Aliyev has done nothing to separate himself from his duties as a parliamentarian."

NDI also said Ilham Aliyev has improperly utilized his government connections to bolster his campaign. For example, the report says government facilities have been used for "partisan" campaign functions. "The younger Aliyev has not shied away from using his position as a government official in ways that appear to advantage his candidacy."

Approximately 500 international observers are expected to monitor the Azerbaijani presidential vote. Local NGOs have attempted to circumvent legislation that restricts a coordinated domestic monitoring effort by encouraging individuals to register as election observers. Many civil-society-related NGOs in Azerbaijan receive foreign funding, which, under Azerbaijani law, bars them from mounting monitoring efforts.

According to the NDI report, one Azerbaijani NGO – For the Sake of Civil Society – is coordinating a project that aims to deploy individual monitors in roughly 60 percent of Azerbaijan's polling stations. "However, [as of October 10] in 12 regions, including Baku, approximately 1,400 observers have applied to DECs, yet only 600 have received badges so far," the NDI report said.

Posted October 14, 2003 © Eurasianet