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26 September 2016

By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend

The referendum on amending Azerbaijan’s Constitution has to be a long-term strategic road map, Andre Reichardt, French senator, president of the France–South Caucasus Friendship Group, told Trend Sept.26.

“It is obvious that Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has this strategic view for developing the country, with the result on the cultural, social and diplomatic issues that we can see,” he added.

This constitutional reform is included in all the reforms that Azerbaijan’s president has already implemented or tries to implement, said Reichardt, adding that this is a part of the global plan.

Noting that the president is holding some reforms regarding corruption, transparency, Reichardt said this is the part of Ilham Aliyev’s global view.

First of all, the referendum is related to regional context and lack of stability of the area, according to Reichardt.

“We will see the results of the referendum and hope that it will bring stability and security. If so many tourists are coming to Baku, it is because it is safe. The first human right is the human right for security,” he noted.

“Now the problem Azerbaijan faces, we all face, in France, in Europe, is a balance between security and freedom and that is always very challenging,” added the senator.

“I have to say that the process [of voting] is clear.

The referendum on making amendments to Azerbaijan’s Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and wrapped up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours).

As many as 117 international observers – MPs from over 30 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) – have been accredited by Azerbaijan’s CEC to observe the referendum. The total number of the observers is around 53,000.