Azerbaijan Rejects European Criticism

Published: 2 November 2005 y., Wednesday

President Ilham Aliyev's office on Tuesday rejected European criticism of the government's preparations for the weekend parliamentary election, saying that authorities had significantly liberalized election procedures.

Aliyev's office said a critical assessment of preparations for the election by the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe failed to take into account the government's agreement last week to take steps to prevent fraud. The steps include the use of invisible ink and ultraviolet light monitors to prevent people from voting more than once.

Aliyev also directed that Azeri nongovernmental organizations that receive more than 30 percent of their funding from foreign sources should be allowed to monitor the balloting. Such organizations had previously been banned from monitoring. And he instructed election authorities to ensure that voter lists include voters' addresses.

"I am sure that if the paper had reflected the president's instructions of Oct. 25, many of the criticisms would have lost their actuality," said Ali Hasanov, director of the social and political department of the presidential administration. He said that the report had reviewed the situation only until Oct. 21.

Šaltinis: The Associated Press
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

The most popular articles

Mali's President Amadou Toumani Touré: “Africa will have its chance”

“Demography, raw materials, and our people will certainly give us one day our luck,” said Amadou Toumani Toure, President of Mali, on Tuesday when he addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg. more »

Tube strike causes travel chaos

Millions of commuters in London struggle to get to work as a 24 hour strike by workers on the underground rail system cripples much of the network. more »

EU should be communicated better, say MEPs

Better communication by governments, parties, educational institutions and public service broadcasters is vital to overcome the perception of many citizens that “Europe” is too distant and can do little to solve their real problems, say MEPs in a resolution approved on Tuesday. more »

MEPs discuss humanitarian needs after floods in Pakistan

EU humanitarian aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva stressed Pakistan's needs for food, clean water, sanitation and shelter in a debate on Tuesday. more »

Flood alert in southeast Australia

Residents of several Victoria towns remain on high alert as flood waters continue to rise. more »

Pakistan flood victims return home

Residents of flood-hit Sindh are heading back to their hometowns, some still a metre deep in water. more »

Quake cleanup in New Zealand

The city of Christchurch is facing challenges days after being hit by a powerful earthquake more »

Japan temps break records and sweats

Japan continues to suffer under a record-breaking heatwave that has led to the deaths of some 500 people, and sent nearly 47,000 to hospital. more »

Indonesian villagers flee volcano

Thousands of Indonesian villagers are living in shelters, after they were forced to flee their homes near erupting Mount Sinabung. more »

EP President Jerzy Buzek meets Polish President Bronisław Komorowski

The destination of the first official visit of newly elected Polish President Bronisław Komorowski was the European Parliament in Brussels, where he received a warm welcome from his host, a man he smilingly described as his “former boss”, current Parliament President Jerzy Buzek. more »