News Coverage of Opposition Candidates in Azerbaijan Elections Limited: OSCE Report

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights continues to publish interim reports on its Election Observation Mission in Azerbaijan, ahead of the Nov. 7 parliamentary elections in Armenia’s neighboring country. 

In its Oct. 29 report, the OSCE/ODIHR provided a summary on the state of Central Election Commission (CEC) meetings, voter lists, cases of refusals to register candidates and the election campaign overall. The report notes that, as of Oct. 25, the CEC has reviewed a total of 224 complaints — 42 of those complaints against denial of registration by Constituency Election Commissions (ConEC) were upheld by the CEC. However, the OSCE/ODIHR report notes that “CEC and ConEC decisions on complaints almost always lack thorough and detailed reasoning. Plaintiffs are rarely invited to election commission sessions where their cases are reviewed, despite legal provisions and explicit requests by plaintiffs.” 

Further, it says that the “Baku Court of Appeals has thus far reviewed over 50 cases, dismissing them all. The court has so far declined to accept as evidence any testimonies of witnesses suggested by the appellants.”

On the matter of media coverage, the OSCE/ODIHR report notes that public television is the only national channel which organizes daily roundtable discussions that provide each candidate with four minutes of free airtime.” Though the CEC and the authorities receive significant coverage in media in general, according to the report, news coverage of opposition candidates remains very limited.

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights observers have noticed and reported some instances of obstruction of candidates’ campaign activities by police and local authorities. Overall, however, the report noted the election campaign has “thus far been calm and low-key.”

The report can be viewed in detail here.