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| 15:43:32 | 07-06-2005 | Politics |
CoE DISCONTENT WITH AZERBAIJAN
Council of Europe Monitoring Committee rapporteurs Andreas Gross and Andres
Herkel will submit the report entitled `Functioning of Democratic Institutes
in Azerbaijan’ to the PACE summer session to be held in Strasbourg June
20-24.
The draft resolution says that PACE views the coming parliamentary elections
as a `decisive test’, since the latest elections held in the country did not
correspond to democratic standards. The Parliamentary Assembly calls the
authorities and opposition to do everything within the limits of the
possible to avoid violence. Gross and Herkel also recommend the Assembly to
condemn the killing of Elmar Huseynov and the atmosphere of fear that reigns
among journalists after it.
The rapporteurs consider that PACE should express concern over the fact that
the Election Code cannot secure fair elections and that the Azerbaijani
leadership refused to fulfill politically important recommendations by the
Venice Commission and the OSCE on the amendments to the election
legislation.
In their opinion the Assembly should not ratify the mandate of the new
delegation of the Azeri parliament in January 2006 if the international
community does not recognize the parliamentary elections as free and fair.