20. Juni 2005

Trend Analytical
Information Agency

Azerbaijan needs urgently
a better electoral code

With consideration of the actuality of the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe's towards the ongoing processes in the country we asked the below-given questions to Mr. Andreas Gross, a co-rapporteur of the PACE Monitoring Committee on Azerbaijan.
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PACE officials have numerously voiced their dissatisfaction with the situation media in Azerbaijan. Which steps should the Azerbaijani government take for the resolution of the problem? Is this problem linked with the changes to the Azerbaijani legislation?

My personal hope would be that the azeri government gives the guarantee for the existence of three independent public TV and Radio Stations which are governed by people elected by the citizens in three different regions of AZ. Also the azeri government has to guarantee the existence of a national printing House and a national distribution organisation which is open to every body who wants a newspaper to be printed and distributes and can pay the bills which should respect the average level of costs. And thirdly the government should encourage all officials to us courts procedures against papers or TV or radio stations only in the absolutely last resort and should renounce on financial fees. Anything in this step would be helpful. But definitely legal reforms have to judged following their implementation and the real daily program of the public TV. In Moldova the public TV is still a government TV; in Britain and Germany the public TV is a real contribution for a democratic public sphere Azerbaijan needs so much.

How do you estimate the last statement by the Azerbaijani law-defenders on positive result of the talks at the President's Apparat? In particular, the agreement on the signing of a decree on pardon and opportunities for the resolution of the problem 'political prisoners' in Azerbaijan are meant. What is the CE's position on this issue?

I only know statements of the Human Rights defenders; the law defenders are the Courts and unfortunately you don't here from them many encouraging statements. The agreement is a positive contribution to the democracy building process in AZ, not because of its substance - which is rather governmental - but because it s a product of a common dialog between groups and people who did not discuss enough with each other in the past. The CoE is a institution with different body and I am not speaking for all of them but only for the monitoring team of the parliamentary assembly. I welcome this dialog and this statement although I disagree with some of it s conclusions. But this is not a problem , but the expression of a free society in which different people may disagree in different political issues. In this sense I will engage myself for the debate on the functioning of the democratic institutions in AZ - an item to which the problem of political prisoners is a part of it.

How efficiently will the results of talks between the Azerbaijani government and the Venice Commission affect on the position of the international community and situation in Azerbaijan? Will the issue become a topic of discussions at the summer session of the PACE?

Of course. What the international community is doing, I do not know because it is composed of many different parts and elements. I think such talks are always good; the outcome could be improved because AZ needs urgently a better electoral code, an issue the parliamentary assembly addressed several times in the last years: The electoral committees have to be really independent body, accepted by all participants and not the instrument of the majority in order to defend the majority which is not it s function in a democratic electoral process.

Are there any plans on the establishment of a monitoring group of CE experts, which will be involved in Azerbaijan in the pre-elections campaign of the monitoring is carried out only by the CE Representative Office in Azerbaijan?

The two azeri monitor parliamentary and Mr Herkel and myself, will spend a whole week in July after the 5th of July observing and monitoring the preparations for the elections in Baku and some regions. In September we will have as usual a pre-electoral mission of the PACE of 5 people which will come to AZ for about 3 or 4 days. And at the election day probably about 30 MPs of the PACE will be present together with many other OSCE, EU and NATO-Assembly observers. These are most effective and reputated organisation. I myself observed in the last 11 years more than 35 elections from Florida to Baku and from Tirana to Odessa; these experiences give me a large knowledge and a respected credibility. Also in this sense we don't need new institutions because the established ones are doing their job well.

When do you plan to visit Azerbaijan next?

As I already mentioned after observing the Albanian elections I will arrive in Baku in the morning of Tuesday the 5th of July and will stay until Saturday morning. This is my 19th visit of AZ in 4 and a half years - I don't think you find a West European who has been more often in AZ than me. For this privilege to be able to speak so intensively with so many azeris in this difficult time I am very grateful.


Andreas Gross