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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SHARPLY CRITICIZES PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN AZERBAIJAN
17:22 24/10/2013 " REGION
Presidential elections held in Azerbaijan on October 9 did not meet
international standards, reads the resolution adopted on the eve of
the plenary session of the European Parliament. The draft resolution
is available on the organization's website.
It is emphasized that the campaign in Azerbaijan was carried out with
violations of international standards.
The European Parliament is concerned about the human rights problems
in Azerbaijan and insists that the authorities have taken appropriate
steps to demonstrate its commitment to the standards of freedom of
expression and assembly, as well as the protection of the rights
of opposition.
Besides that, the European Parliament calls for the immediate release
of 14 opposition leaders and human rights activists who were arrested
in recent months, including Tofig Yagublu, the deputy chairman of the
"Musavat" party and an employee of the "Yeni Musavat" newspaper as
well as the leader of "REAL" Ilgar Mamedov. The organization calls
on Azerbaijan to stop harassment of oppositionist activists as an
indispensable condition for any agreement and to review the strategic
partnership with Azerbaijan.
"The European Parliament deplores for the fact that the presidential
elections in Azerbaijan, as the OSCE/ODIHR has concluded, has once
again failed to meet OSCE standards," the document reads. It is noted
that the OSCE observation mission has recorded a number of violations
and urged the authorities to seriously address these problems.
The resolution expresses regret at the fact that the issue of signing
the Association Agreement by Azerbaijan with the EU is still not
solved because of hesitations and lack of a clear point of view.
Besides that, the European Parliament has adopted a draft resolution
on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, noting that the conflict should be
resolved on the basis adopted in 1993 by the UN Security Council and
the basic principles of the OSCE Minsk Group set out in the L'Aquila
Joint Statement on July 10, in 2009. The draft resolution also calls
on the EU to take a more active part in the settlement process.
On October 9 presidential election were held in Azerbaijan during
which incumbent President Ilham Aliyev received 84.54% of votes. Jamil
Hasanli, a single candidate from the opposition National Council
of Democratic Forces, was on the second place. He scored 5.53% of
the vote.
The joint statement of the ODIHR / OSCE observation mission and the
Parliamentary Assembly, noted that the presidential elections were
held in Azerbaijan in terms of restriction of freedom of speech
and assembly. In its turn, the Minister for European Affairs David
Lidington stated that the British Foreign Ministry shares the OSCE /
ODIHR's opinion that the presidential elections held in Azerbaijan
failed to meet the commitments with OSCE. Opinion of the OSCE and
the United Kingdom are also divided the U.S. Department of State.
Source: Panorama.am
17:22 24/10/2013 " REGION
Presidential elections held in Azerbaijan on October 9 did not meet
international standards, reads the resolution adopted on the eve of
the plenary session of the European Parliament. The draft resolution
is available on the organization's website.
It is emphasized that the campaign in Azerbaijan was carried out with
violations of international standards.
The European Parliament is concerned about the human rights problems
in Azerbaijan and insists that the authorities have taken appropriate
steps to demonstrate its commitment to the standards of freedom of
expression and assembly, as well as the protection of the rights
of opposition.
Besides that, the European Parliament calls for the immediate release
of 14 opposition leaders and human rights activists who were arrested
in recent months, including Tofig Yagublu, the deputy chairman of the
"Musavat" party and an employee of the "Yeni Musavat" newspaper as
well as the leader of "REAL" Ilgar Mamedov. The organization calls
on Azerbaijan to stop harassment of oppositionist activists as an
indispensable condition for any agreement and to review the strategic
partnership with Azerbaijan.
"The European Parliament deplores for the fact that the presidential
elections in Azerbaijan, as the OSCE/ODIHR has concluded, has once
again failed to meet OSCE standards," the document reads. It is noted
that the OSCE observation mission has recorded a number of violations
and urged the authorities to seriously address these problems.
The resolution expresses regret at the fact that the issue of signing
the Association Agreement by Azerbaijan with the EU is still not
solved because of hesitations and lack of a clear point of view.
Besides that, the European Parliament has adopted a draft resolution
on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, noting that the conflict should be
resolved on the basis adopted in 1993 by the UN Security Council and
the basic principles of the OSCE Minsk Group set out in the L'Aquila
Joint Statement on July 10, in 2009. The draft resolution also calls
on the EU to take a more active part in the settlement process.
On October 9 presidential election were held in Azerbaijan during
which incumbent President Ilham Aliyev received 84.54% of votes. Jamil
Hasanli, a single candidate from the opposition National Council
of Democratic Forces, was on the second place. He scored 5.53% of
the vote.
The joint statement of the ODIHR / OSCE observation mission and the
Parliamentary Assembly, noted that the presidential elections were
held in Azerbaijan in terms of restriction of freedom of speech
and assembly. In its turn, the Minister for European Affairs David
Lidington stated that the British Foreign Ministry shares the OSCE /
ODIHR's opinion that the presidential elections held in Azerbaijan
failed to meet the commitments with OSCE. Opinion of the OSCE and
the United Kingdom are also divided the U.S. Department of State.
Source: Panorama.am