This Sunday, parliamentary elections will take place in Azerbaijan. At the moment, the CIS mission of observers hasn’t registered any violations of the electoral law. The mission is analyzing the Azerbaijani electoral law, observing the process of the election campaign, and holding meetings in the Foreign Ministry, the Presidential Administration, the government, the Central Electoral Commission and the General Prosecutor's Office. Moreover, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has announced its observer mission. The delegation, which consists of 30 observers, will be headed by Spanish parliamentarian Jordi Chukla. 10 members of the European Socialist Party, 9 representatives of the European People’s Party, four representatives of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, two members of the European United Left, one member of the Party of European Conservatives, two speakers and two representatives of the Venice Commission will be observers of the mission.
According to Stanislav Cherniavsky, Director of the Center for Post-Soviet Studies of the Institute of International Studies of MGIMO, over the past 15 years the Azerbaijani leadership made advances in every possible way to the international legal organizations that deal with human rights issues, violations of human rights, issues of formation of electoral codes. Azerbaijan is actively cooperating with the Council of Europe, PACE and the Venice Commission. The current electoral code and current electoral system of Azerbaijan has included almost all the critical comments and suggestions, which were expressed at the time. According to Chernyavsky, Azerbaijan “did not take only things which are contrary to Azerbaijani traditions and ways of Azeri life.”
Speaking about the reaction to the current elections abroad, the expert states that Russia, of course, hopes that the Azerbaijani people, as always, will show their political literacy, their conscientiousness, their confidence in the future, and will make the right choice. “As for other countries, in my view, such countries, partners and friends of Azerbaijan as Turkey are interested in a stable situation in Azerbaijan, in ensuring that these elections are held peacefully and without any excesses. And I am fully confident that they will be held without any excesses,” the expert said.
Commenting on the relations between Baku and the EU, Chernyavsky says that “attempts to lure Azerbaijan to various partnerships on a basis which is beneficial only for the European Union, and which violates the rights of Azerbaijan, they have failed. We saw this at the Vilnius summit, and at the following events of this kind. I do not think that those attacks, which are now coming from the outside, can somehow overshadow the positive image of Azerbaijan as a developing democratic state. I hope that these elections will be perceived with understanding by all international actors,” the expert said.
