Interview with IFES Country Director by Khalg newspaper
1. Mr Blessington, first of all, we would like to know your attitude to CEC educational events. Recently a number of events were conducted together with some international organizations. How do you evaluate significance of those events?
If elections are to be held properly, election officials must be trained. And we don’t think of training as a one-time event. Election officials should receive regular training to be current with the laws and various processes and techniques for conducting good elections. IFES has organized trainings with the CEC in past years and we applaud the CEC’s commitment to this important activity. The CEC and Venice Commission organized four days of trainings this past week for ConECs. IFES also participated in these trainings.
2. Recently a law on amendments and changes to the Election Code was adopted. What was a need for making changes to the Election Code which is considered a democratic document?
No law or legal code is perfect…. None is meant to last forever with no changes. An election code is not made of stone. It is affected by the legal, political and societal realities that surround it. All legislative frameworks need to be revisited from time to time to see where improvements can be made.
3. Amendments and changes were made to the Election Code at various times. Which aspects of this year’s amendments and changes draw more attention?
Certainly, the inking of fingers is one such change, and, in my view, a positive one. You may recall that the inking of fingers was introduced in 2005 by Presidential Decree as an anti-fraud measure. It is now in the code. Another positive change involves an amendment to Article 46.1, which provides that a decision on whether or not a person should be added to the voters list on Election Day shall be made by the Precinct Election Commission in accordance with rules determined by the Central Election Commission, instead of by a court as has been the case in the past. The new amendments also have introduced procedural safeguards for candidates facing a deregisteration proceeding – another positive amendment. Less positive changes, in the view of many, are the shortening of the time periods for registration and campaigning. Elections are now to be announced no later 75 days before Election Day, which triggers certain activities and time frames for registration, signature collection, etc. This is a reduction from 120 days. The pre-election campaign period can only begin 28 days before Election Day. This is a reduction from 60 days. Candidates will now have less than ½ the time as before to campaign.
4. How do you assess making amendments and changes on the eve of the presidential elections and efforts of President Ilham Aliyev in direction of conduct of the democratic elections?
The amended code is not a perfect document, but I agree with Gianni Buquicchio of the Venice Commission with whom I met last week. We both believe it provides an adequate basis to hold democratic elections.
5. It would be interesting to know your attitude to liquidation of deposit in the new amendments and changes.
Until the recent amendments, an individual could make a voluntary deposit of money in lieu of collecting the required number of signatures to become a candidate. I think this was a very good provision. I’m sorry that it was eliminated from the Code.
6. How do you assess decision of the political forces wanting to boycott the presidential elections?
IFES is committed to elections. We are concerned with improving the process of elections, such as having a proper legal framework and good election administration. While I won’t comment on the specific political decision of any political party, I can say that IFES encourages full participation in the electoral process.
7. Which actions has IFES Azerbaijan conducted to ensure transparent and fair conduct of the elections and what are future plans?
As you may know, IFES spent considerable time and effort on amendments to the Election Code. In early 2007 we organized roundtables for political parties and civil society where we provided comparative approaches to election administration. Later in the year – we co-organized roundtables on election composition and complaints and appeals with the Council of Europe and Central Election Commission. We also worked with our international partners, the Venice Commission and the OSCE’s Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, in considering amendments to the election code. This effort was carried out with the Presidential Apparat and Central Election Commission and we provide information on elections to independent lawyers, NGOs and political parties, and participate in trainings such as the ones last week co-organized by the CEC and Venice Commission. We will be working with the CEC on implementing new election code provisions addressing complaints and appeals, and will be cooperating on training and voter education efforts.
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