HOT LINE REPORT N4
October 24-28, 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 N4 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.

BRIEF COMMENT

From October 24 to 28, 2000, SOS-938397 Electoral Rights Protecting Hotline has received reports of 21 incidents. Most of the reports are about the illegalities at the election campaign. The analyses of these reports show that the representatives of local authorities are illegally interfering to the electoral process, all the election placards of the opposition parties are torn and undesirable candidates for the authorities are faced with various pressures by the orders of the local officials and police in some provinces of the country.

In some reports is stated that the opposition delegates who are struggling for their electoral rights have been arrested.

It is also reported that the candidates being supported by the authorities are using of illegal technologies at the election campaign.

The Reports

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Posted October 23, 2000 © Eurasianet
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