HOT LINE REPORT N3
October 16-21, 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 N3 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

From October 16 to 21, 2000, SOS-938397 Electoral Rights Protection Hotline has received reports of 25 incidents. The candidates and political parties whose electoral rights have been violated during the pre-election campaign have given the main part of these reports. Unlike the ruling party of Yeni Azerbaijan [YAP] that uses of the support of government levers, the oppositional parties are facing with artificial obstacles while agitating their candidates or election platforms. In some provinces, the local authorities do not allow the oppositional representatives to meet with their voters. And in some provinces the police colleagues and persons carrying out the orders of the local officials are taking the campaign placards of the oppositional parties.

There are a number of facts on the interference of the local authorities to the electoral process. And the most serious fact of this kind is beating a candidate in Quba district by the local officials.

While the registration stage of the candidates has been finished on October 10, 2000, some of the candidates who have been refused to register continue their struggle for restoring their rights. It is notable that the Central Election Commission [CEC] has not replied to hundreds of complaint letters, yet.

The Reports:
October 16-17
October 19-21

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Posted October 23, 2000 © Eurasianet
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