There was no pluralism in the run-up to the elections and critical voices were consistently suppressed. Long-standing restrictions on freedom of association and expression were reinforced by recent amendments to the legislation that fall short of international democratic standards. This is stated in the preliminary conclusion of the OSCE/ODIHR Joint Observation Mission on the February 7 presidential election in Azerbaijan.
The mission found that previous OSCE recommendations on the need to amend the country's Electoral Code were not accepted.
"The early presidential election took place in a restrictive environment, and while it was effectively prepared, critical voices and a political alternative were largely absent. Unfortunately, previous recommendations to bring the legal framework in line with international standards for democratic elections went unheeded," said Artur Gerasimov, OSCE Special Co-ordinator and Head of Short-Term Observers.
According to him, the election campaign lacked meaningful public participation and was not competitive. The six candidates did not challenge the policies of the incumbent, so voters did not see a real alternative.
At the same time, civil society and opposition representatives noted that the right to freedom of peaceful assembly was restricted, Gerasimov said.
Daniela De Ridder, head of the OSCE PA delegation, in turn noted the absence of women among candidates and Azerbaijan's political life in general. "On Election Day, observers noted significant shortcomings: in the issue of secrecy of the vote, facts of multiple voting, mass ballot box stuffing, etc." she said. This raises serious questions whether the ballots were counted and fair," she said.
"Strict restrictive media laws as well as recent arrests of critical journalists have impeded the free functioning of the media and led to widespread self-censorship, limiting independent journalism and critical debate," Ridder emphasized.
"In this important election for the country, no candidate credibly challenged the incumbent, and some opposition parties did not participate at all, claiming a lack of adequate democratic conditions," said Eoghan Murphy, head of the ODIHR mission.
Mission members confirmed the existence of serious irregularities during voting at polling stations, including restrictions on observers' activities and the failure to allow local NGOs to monitor. When asked whether there was pressure on the mission members from the Azerbaijani authorities, Artur Gerasimov said that there was no pressure.
For her part, Rieder emphasized that serious violations were recorded during voting and vote counting.
Commenting on the recent arrests of journalists, Reeder said: "We record this problem and we know very well in what conditions you work and not only in the elections and outside them," when asked about the situation with freedom of speech in Azerbaijan.
