HOT LINE REPORT N2 October 11-15, 2000
Electoral Violations Reported to the Azerbaijan Electoral Rights Protection Hotline

SOS –93 83 97 Electoral Rights Protection Hotline is acting with the initiative of the following Azeri NGOs: 1. Political and Economic Reforms Center; 2. Azerbaijan National Democracy Foundation; 3. Support Center for the Democratic Elections; 4. The Association for the Protection of Women’s Rights after D.Alieva; 5. The Center for Pluralism "Inam"; 6. The Committee for the Protection of Democracy and Human Rights.

The main goal of the activity of the hotline is to create conditions for the citizens for struggling for their electoral rights. For that purpose there are created possibilities for the candidates, party activists and voters whose rights have been violated to call 938-397 hotline and report abuses and seek legal assistance. Announcements about it and the numbers of the Hotline are published in the local newspapers. The colleagues of the Hotline are, regularly, receiving the reports from the citizens whose electoral rights have been violated on the 938-397 and 314-17-17 hotline, give legal assistance to them.

The Electoral Rights Protection Hotline prepares reports on the violations of electoral rights, as well. For forming more detailed view on the scale and directions of the illegalities during the elections, some information on the violations published at the local media are included to the reports of the hotline.

Report N2 of the SOS- 938-397 Electoral Rights Protection Hotline on the received reports on the illegalities during the preparation stage to the parliamentary elections of the Republic of Azerbaijan scheduled for November 5, 2000.

OUR COMMENT

Between October 11 to 15, 2000, SOS –938397 Hotline has received 33 reports. Most of these reports have been given from the candidates who have been refused to register. It is notable that on October 10, 2000, there has finished the process of registering candidates from the majoritarian districts. Hundreds of the citizens whose rights have been violated have made complaints from the REC to the CEC, but the CEC has considered only a few of these complaints. According to the Article 44 of the law "On the elections to Milli Mejlis", the CEC has to response the complaints in the course of 5 days. But the CEC has not used of the requisition of the legislation.

On October 10, there has begun a propaganda campaign of the political parties participating in the elections. The reports received during that period show that there are made serious illegalities in the electoral process. There are stopped the electricity in some provinces while the oppositional candidates are speaking on the State-Owned TV of Azerbaijan. As a result, the voters can not watch the speeches of the government’s opponents on TV. So, the principle of creating equal conditions for all the political forces in the elections, as well as the Article 25 of the Constitution and Article 4 of the Law "On the elections to Milli Mejlis" have been roughly violated.

Some of the reports are about the illegalities made in formalization of the district election commissions. There still continues steps towards the illegal interference of the local officials to the electoral process and preventing the participation of the oppositional representatives at the election commissions.

The Reports:
October 11-12
October 13-14

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Posted October 23, 2000 © Eurasianet
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