Presidential Elections in Azerbaijan 2013

The presidential elections in Azerbaijan, as well as pre-election process, were accompanied with diverse violations of human rights and fraud. The High Representative and the Commissioner Catherine Ashton and Štefan Füle noted of continued pressure on opposition activists, civil society and independent media. A list of human rights defenders outlined 142 cases of politically motivated detention and imprisonment targeted for exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association. Even pre-election campaigns were full of violations of basic rules. Azerbaijan’s state-controlled broadcast media rarely shows opposition figures. State-owned or controlled TV stations were failing to fulfill their role as a public service broadcaster, did not provide balanced programming and equal minutes to all candidates. Moreover, three independent media outlets which have been relegated to the Internet since a 2009 ban took them off the air – the Azerbaijani services of the BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Voice of America – have been accused by the Central Election Commission of being in “propaganda mode” during the campaign period – presumably for daring to cover the opposition’s campaign activities, and not just the president’s. Electoral commission accidentally published results showing a victory for Ilham Aliyev, the country’s long-standing President, a day before voting. The latter which showed that Mr Aliyev had received 72.76 per cent of the vote compared with 7.4 per cent for the opposition candidate, Jamil Hasanli. The app displayed information about how many people voted at various times during the day.

The last but not the least. When Aliyev came to power in 2003, and when he was re-elected in 2008, there was a two-term limit on the Azerbaijani presidency. This limit was removed through a Constitutional referendum in 2009. Hasanli and his supporters argue, however, that the changes do not apply retroactively to Aliyev, but should apply instead to his successor, meaning he does not have the right to run for a third term. 

Having this non-fertile background for democracy building and establishing rule of law it was obvious that the elections itself would be a great disaster.

It was not just an election fraud or some minor violations in different polling stations, but there was a big governmental fraud machine working with the involvement of police officers brings election box full of bulletins , agents of National Security Ministry (KGB) kidnapping independent observers, High rank military officers pushing the soldiers insight their units to vote for Aliyev and show the bulletins, prison officers torturing and humiliating the prisoners who disobeyed to vote for Aliyev, teachers calling the parents of the pupils and telling to come and vote, workers of companies owned by Governmental elites (Baku Sewing Factory voted twice time), "centurions" responsible for bringing 100 votes for Aliyev, private companies such as Socar transporting the same people from one polling station to another making the hazardous electoral “carousel” come true, commission authorities dropping

dozens of already filled bulletins into election boxes, pressuring people to vote for Aliyev, pressuring independent observers and withdrawing them from polling stations, closing their eyes on the fact that more than one people are entering the election cabins.

As you see it's just not violation of some individuals, but it is a well designed and structured program where everyone had their rolls and duties. 

Liberal Youth Network of the South Caucasus, as regional liberal youth community, being interested in the fairness and legitimacy of presidential elections in the member countries, stating the importance of protection of freedom of speech and human rights, has been focusing on the presidential elections in Azerbaijan.

As the concerned communities have noticed, the government with 142 political prisoners and a bunch of violations of basic electoral rules, organised expected illegal elections with political repressions.

We urge the international communities and interested parties to keep their attention on the possibilities to find a basic solution for fair and legitimate elections organisation in the region, as well as the international observers to call the things by its real names.