HOT LINE REPORT N1 September 30-October 10, 2000
Electoral Violations Reported to the Azerbaijan Electoral Rights Protection Hotline

On September 30, SOS-938397 Hotline has received 5 reports.

ARRESTS

1. Baku on September 29 during the consideration of the action of the Party Musavat raised against the Central Election Commission [CEC] the Musavat members gathered in front of the Court of Appeal have faced with the police violence. Two Musavat members were detained, Hamlet Safikhanli, chairman of the Jabrail regional branch of the Musavat, was taken to the police station and kept for 3 hours there. Deputy chief of the Yasamal region police station Chingiz Mammadov stated that Safikhanli was detained for calling slogans on Musavat before the Court of Appeal. Safikhanli was fined 100 thousand manates and then was released.

It is notable that Safikhanli has registers his candidacy, and he was detained together with his signature lists.

The other Musavat member detained in front of the Court of Appeal is Mobil Aslanli, candidate for sciences, chief of the chamber at the Baku State University, Musavat member. Aslanli is also a member of the Council of the Yasamal branch of the Musavat Party. He was released after being kept for 2 hours in the station.

2. Agjabedi- on September 29, Chingiz Musaiev, a member of the Agjabedi regional branch of the Musavat, was detained. Musaiev is nominated from Agjabedi Election District no.52, also collecting signatures for Isa Abbasov, a member of the Musavat. According to Isa Abbasov there has begun pressures on the voters who sign for his candidacy in Agjabedi region. The voters are demanded to deny their signatures. In the information of Abbasov is said that Shamil Hasanov, head of the local government, and Hasan Aliev, chief of the local police department, head this actions. Musaiev was summoned to the police station and insulted for collecting signatures for Abbasov. Later he was charged with preventive punishment for 10 days in hooliganism. At the moment, Musaiev is kept at the isolator of Agjabedi police station.

PRESSURES

3. Qazakh- Abdulla Allahverdiev has run his candidacy from the Qazakh election district no.59. It is notable that Allahverdiev is a former minister of internal affairs of the republic, major general in reserve of the Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces. On September 14, Allahverdiev has presented 2,280 election signatures to the 59^th Qazakh Election district for registering his candidacy. On September 22, his documents were checked, and the members of the commission considered unreliable 600 signatures of the collected by the candidate and rejected to register his candidacy. The Local Election Commission [LEC] has considered unreliable of 240 signatures because of writing the date of issue of the passports to the scale of signatures. And the candidate was not explained of considering invalid the other 360 signatures.

While Allahverdiev has appealed to the CEC, his complaint has not been considered, yet.

4. Baku - Rasul Sabir oglu Huseinly, chairman of the Yasamal region branch of the Musavat, has run his candidacy from the Yasamal-Nasimi election district no.8. For collecting signatures about Huseinli, on September 29 a district police officer (his name is Shohrat) came to his home. Later ordered the family of Huseinly be careful. Huseinly estimates this incident as intimidation against him.

QUESTIONING

5. Baku- Oktay Mammadov, a colleague of the Scientific-Research Institute of Agriculture, has appealed to the SOS-938397, and informed that his electoral rights were violated. Mammadov was not allowed to sign for the candidate he wanted. And the reason was having Mammadov only a military document instead of ID. Mammadov being concerned of depriving of the right voting was interested whether a military card is an ID or not, and was given corresponding legal instruction by the SOS LPER colleagues.

On October 2, SOS-938397 Hotline has received 6 reports.

ILLEGALITIES

1. Qazakh - the candidacy of Akif Abdulazim oglu Ashirli, editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Sharg", was not registered. He has run his candidacy from the Qazakh election district no.59. Some of the collected 2,200 signatures in support of Ashirli were considered invalid; 261-for being similar, 37-for the unreliable documents (passport of the citizen of Azerbaijan Republic and Form No.9), and 120-for being collected by legal persons. Ashirli stated that the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Gunaydin" helped to the collection of signatures in his support. Since the founder of the newspaper is the board of the editorial, it can not be considered a legal person. In addition, Ashirli noted that some representatives of the LEC have confirmed that they have given orders from above. And asked the candidate not to consider them as enemy. Ashirli has appealed to the CEC concerning the question.

2. Baku - the voters of Adalat Bayramali oglu Aliev, former chairman of AZAL, nominated from the Surakhani region election district no.20 were pressured. Yashar Mahmudov, the lawyer of the candidate, informed about it to the SOS-938397. In lawyers’ words, 1,200 of 2,292 signatures collected in support of the candidate were checked. 325 of them were declared invalid. In the decision of the LEC is noted that the candidate is not registered because of some signatures were similar and some the place of addresses were not right. On talking with us, Mahmudov said that the members of the commission have checked one mistake four times. Even though the people that signed in support of Bayramov came to the REC [Regional Election Commission] and once again confirmed their signatures, but it was not taken into consideration. Mahmudov said that the DEC members are preparing false letters as if some voters have rejected of their signatures. Nevertheless, the voters living in those addresses have stressed that they did not write letter to the REC and that they support the candidate.

3. Yevlakh - Jamal Ismail oglu Babaiev, nominated from the Yevlakh election district no.30 has complied on the serious illegalities made by the REC members. In his words, the DEC members by violating the procedural rules in registering candidates have checked the signature lists of Fazail Agamali, chairman of the party Ana Vatan, before the lists of other candidates. As there appeared a lot of shortcomings during the check of Agamali’s signatures, a representative of the National Independence Party was taken from the working-group. Afterwards, there was called a special working group from Baku for checking the signatures of Agamali and Babaiev, chairman of the regional branch of the NIP. That working group registered Agamali’s candidacy, and the candidacy of Babaiev was not registered. Babaiev informed that in the opinion of the working group was noted that there was not found any shortcoming in his signature lists. But experts have stated that 136 0f 1,200 signatures collected in support of Babaiev were repeated. Babaiev also informed that there have begun pressures on his voters and all of these are carried out by the order of the head of the local executive power.

4. Tovuz - the signature lists of Tofiq Huseinov, former minister of agriculture and advisor of the Musavat’s chairman, were checked at the Tovuz-Gadabay election district no.88. In the information given from Tovuz is stated that the chairman of the REC Qasim Huseinov and Jahangir Isgandarov, chairman of the working group, are making arbitrariness in this region. Hundreds of voters of the candidate being concerned of declaring their signatures invalid have gathered in front of the REC building. But nevertheless, 30-35 signatures of Huseinov were declared invalid. Chairman of the REC confirmed in his talk with journalists that he has been ordered from above on not allowing Tofiq Huseinov to the elections. Even the head of the regional government held a conference in connection with it.

5. Ismailli - the candidacy of Mehman Javadoglu (Mammadov), secretary of the Party Musavat, was refused to be registered. Javadoglu forwarded his candidacy from the Ismailli election district no.69 and his signatures were declared invalid. Javadoglu has presented 2,293 signatures to the REC. At the 1^st stage, REC has checked 600 signatures and at the 2^nd 420 signatures. In the official protocol of the REC presented to Javadoglu is noted that 103 signatures for being considered similar, 2 for being given by the voters living outside of the limits of the election district, 1 for being given by the citizens under 18, and another 1 for being used of the former passport of the "Republic of Azerbaijan", i.e. totally 107 signatures. But in the protocol is noted that 129 signatures were invalid, and the candidate was not explained the reasons of considering the rest 22 signatures invalid. Javadoglu has applied with a complaint to the CEC concerning the issue.

6. Agdam - according to information given by Shamil Jafarov, a member of the Agdam regional branch of the Musavat Party, a nominee from Agdam village district no.48, the REC is under the complete control of the regional government. The members of the election commission are checking the signature lists on the basis of the orders of the head of the executive power. Since the signature lists of Etimad Asadov, a candidate, and Shamil Jafarov were checked by the method, they were not registered. As a protest to the illegalities made in that district, 3 members of the REC- Yashar Huseinov, Mirsahib Aliev [NIP], and Nushiravan Aslanov [the Popular Front] have made a statement and resigned from their posts.

On October 3, the SOS-938397 Hotline has received 20 reports.

1. Gabala - the local executive and low-enforcement agencies of the region continue pressures on the persons collecting signatures and signing for the proportional candidates’ lists of the Democrat Party in the region and for the support of Ismail Ismailov, a candidate from Gabala election district no.61. As, the representatives of Gabala region’s government by using of various means of pressure on the persons that sing for the Democrat Party’s candidates take a written explanation that they did not give signatures to the candidates of the Democrat party. In the report given to the SOS is stated that the law-enforcement agencies took part in this campaign and they pressure and intimidate the people who signed for the party.

2. Saatli - on October 2, the regional government of Saatli and colleagues of the local police have demanded Nemat Talibov who collected signatures for the candidate Mikail Humbatov, chairman of the regional branch of ADP nominated from Saatli election district no.85, to write a letter to the DEC as if he did not collected those signatures. Chairman of the REC has played a special role in this work.

3. Bilasuvar - Akif Shahbazov, a member of the ADP nominated from Bilasuvar election district no.58, has presented his signature lists to the REC. There was not found any serious shortcomings during the checking of the signatures. But the other day the signature lists of Shahbazov were illegally checked again by the order of the local authorities, and most of the signatures were declared invalid, and as a result the candidacy of Akif Shahbazov was rejected.

4. Qusar- according to the report given from the region, the representatives of the opposition at the LEC were not allowed to acquaint with the signatures given in support of the candidates. Aydin Manguliev, a representative of the Popular Front at Qusar LEC no.65, informed to the Line that the chairman of the REC hides the signatures of Alik Balamatov, deputy head of the region’s government, nominated from the New Azerbaijan Party [YAP]. In the words of Manguliev, legal persons have collected signatures for Balamatov. On October 3, chairman of the REC Kamran Javadov went to Baku. Manguliev stated that the chairman of the REC took the signatures of Balamatov to the CEC. The representatives of the opposition are concerned on "renewing" the signatures of Balamatov in the CEC. Manguliev also added that the head of the region’s government has strongly ordered the REC members on putting aside the other candidates from the elections.

5. Balakan - the candidacy of Akif Mammadli, chairman of the regional branch of the Party Musavat, was not registered. It is informed that Rugiyya Seidova, chairman of the Balakan DEC no.54, and Telman Adigozalov, secretary of the commission, have made illegalities. The working has checked the signatures presented by Mammadli to the LEC, and defined that 2,000 signatures were right. But afterwards, the documents on the results of the checking were changed. 280 signatures instead of the previous 90 were declared invalid. The LEC has refused to give the necessary documents to Mammadli who intends to apply to the CEC and court with a complaint.

Multi-mandate election district. SOS-938397DER has received a report composed of 17 items from the election headquarter of the ADP on the illegalities during the campaign of collecting signatures on the multi-mandate election district of the party.

1. Shamkir- in Duyarli village, Mubariz Mammadov and Arzu Abdullaiev were taken to the local government’s office by the police while collecting signatures for the single candidates’ list of the party, and they were made to give explanation on collecting signatures.
2. Shamkir- the signature lists of Bakir Valiev, who collected signatures at the Dalar settlement of the region, were taken and torn by a representative of the local authorities.
3. Khanlar- Elman Movsumov, a member of the party’s political council, was demanded by the head of the region’s government and police department to stop the campaign of collecting signatures. On seeing no results, the police have taken and torn the filled signature lists, which were confirmed by the CEC. As the chairman of Khanlar branch of the party participated in the signature campaign, his wife was dismissed from her job.
4. Shaki- Natiq Jabiev, an authoritative representative of the ADP in the CEC, and two members of the party were taken to the police station of the city while collecting signatures, and were kept there for over 5 hours.
5. Julfa- Abbas Rahimov, chairman of the regional Assembly of the party, and Jafar Hasanov, a member of the party, were threatened by the police colleagues of the region and was ordered to stop the signature campaign and give the collected signatures to them.
6. Lankaran- Hamid Akhundov, a member of the party who collected signatures in the city, was assaulted by the persons of the local authorities, and his lists were taken and torn.
7. Sharur - in the Garkhun village, Khaliq Abdinov, a member of the party, was taken to the police station while collecting signatures by the colleagues of the police and Ministry of National Security [MNS].
8. Babak - in Nazarabad village, Salman Tumusov, a member of the party, was kept by the police and taken to the police station of Jahri village. And his signature lists were taken and torn by the police.
9. Mingachevir - there were made obstacles on the campaign of collecting signatures of Ali Rafiev, a member of the regional branch of the party, nominated on the one-mandate election district of the city, and demanded a certification from those who collected signatures. And the DEC being obliged of giving the certification has refused to give it.
10. Sharur- a countryman of Dudangy village was detained by the colleagues of the police station of the region for attending at the campaign of collecting signatures.
11. Sharur- Vagif Mahmudov, chairman of the regional branch of the party, was detained by the police and colleagues of the MNS for taking part in the campaign of collecting signatures on the proportional list of the party, and released after being kept at the police station for over 2 hours.
12. Sharur- Rasim Gasimov, a secretary on ideology of the regional branch, Ramiz Jafarov, secretary of the party, were detained by the police of the region.
13. Saatli - Nasraddin Kerimov and Mirzamad Mammadov, members of the regional branch, were summoned to the prosecutor office of the region by a district police officer named Agahusein for taking part in the campaign of collecting signatures on the proportional list of the party.
14. Julfa - members of the party Seyfulla Bayramov and Elchin Najafov collecting signatures at the Arafsa village were kept by the police and taken to the police station.
15. Julfa- members of the party Ibad Babaiev and Ilkin Bakhshaliev collecting signatures in the Kirna village were kept by the police and taken to the police station.

The Reports:
October 4 - October 6
October 7 - October 10

Introduction

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Posted October 18, 2000 © Eurasianet
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