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Center for Strategic Studies Under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (12 March 2018)
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has issued a decree on conducting snap Presidential elections on April 11, 2018. After the President’s decree, Central Election Commission (CEC) has performedvarious large-scale activities aimed at conducting free, fair and transparent elections, as well as raising awareness among different election stakeholders with regard to the Presidential elections in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Registered candidates to the presidency will be allocated free airtime and publication space to conduct pre-election campaign in the mass media. Voters’ list plays an important role in conducting free, fair and transparent elections. As of early January 2017, pursuant to the Election Code, the update process of single voters’ list in the country has been carried out. Like previous years, the current voters’ list has been compiled effectively and accurately as a result of a largescale and comprehensive process under the direct supervision of the Central Election Commission (CEC). Updating of lists has seen involvement of more than 30 thousand members of lower election commissions and the relevant institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Justice, as well as cooperation on the part of local executive authorities and municipalities. At the end of the update process, 5.347.803 voters were included in single voters’ list across the country. The CEC hotline #115 and internet online service have been at the disposal of voters and played critical role in raising the efficiency of the activities undertaken. Successful application of the latest information and communication technologies during the updating of the lists and utilization of special software with improved technical varieties contributed to effective implementation of update process and compilation and publication of the lists in line with high international standards. In light of the CEC educational program, three-day seminars started since February 27, 2018, which targeted the investigation of election-related appeals. The CEC members, the authorized representative of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the European Court of Human Rights, members of the CEC Expert Group and representatives of the Commission Secretariat took part in the event aimed at awareness raising among the members of Expert Groups under Constituency Election Commissions regarding the investigation of the complaints filed against the actions (inactions) and decisions that violate citizens’ election rights. The Government of Azerbaijan has created an Independent Media Center in connection with the upcoming Presidential elections. Any interested person, a presidential candidate or a candidate's plenipotentiary representative can hold a press conference in the media center and also take advantage of other facilities created there. Furthermore, the CEC is interested in the participation of local and international observation missions for assessment of the pre-election environment and preparations for the elections. The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) to Baku from 21 to 22 February 2018. Corien Jonker (Netherlands) has been selected as the Head of Observation Mission of OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to the Presidential elections in Azerbaijan. Additionally, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has also approved candidacy of Sergei Lebedev, Chairman of the Executive Committee and Executive Secretary of the CIS, as head of observation mission during the Presidential elections in Azerbaijan to be held on April 11. As of today, 51 local electoral observant have been registered by the CEC, out of which 36 candidacies have been accredited as self-initiative and the remaining 15 is comprised by the representatives of local NGOs. Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission has registered fifteen candidates (seven of them approved) for the Presidential nominees – six of them being self-nominated and the rest of them supported by different political parties and initiative groups.
