| Series Title | European Voice |
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| Series Details | Vol.11, No.38, 27.10.05 |
| Publication Date | 27/10/2005 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 27/10/05 Opposition leaders in Azerbaijan are calling on the EU to ensure that elections on 6 November are free and fair. Police clashed with opposition supporters in Baku on Sunday (23 October) amid allegations that the government is preparing to rig the vote. Ali Kerimli, chairman of the opposition Popular Front, speaking to European Voice before Sunday's violence, said the EU had to do more to ensure that the vote was not falsified. Kerimli, who led Sunday's protests, said that the composition of the electoral commission, the accuracy of the electoral roll and government efforts to restrict the right of opposition parties to meet were all causes for concern. "The EU should be very clear [with the authorities] and should really take steps before the elections because after the election it will be too late," he said. Azeris will go to the polls a week on Sunday to vote for 125 members of the national parliament, Milli Mejlis. Buoyed by recent events in neighbouring Georgia and Ukraine, the opposition is trying hard to replicate the mass demonstrations which proved effective there. But ahead of the vote the authorities have barred opposition parties from congregating in central Baku, insisting that they meet away from the centre of the city. Protesters have sought to defy the ban and reach the city centre. "We are trying to have a very active campaign but we are facing a very serious problem that we cannot organise our meetings in the places where we want," said Kerimli. The opposition alleges that in the 125 electoral districts the government has 475 candidates. Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has accused the opposition of trying to mislead observers over the state of freedom inside the country. "It is a deliberate attempt of the opposition to create violence, to be beaten by police, and then to demonstrate that there's no democracy in Azerbaijan," he said in a recent interview with the Los Angles Times. An election observation mission from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe has been in the country since 5 September. It is expected to give its initial assessment of the elections on Monday 7 November. Article reports that opposition leaders in Azerbaijan were calling on the EU to ensure that elections on 6 November are free and fair. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations |
| Countries / Regions | Azerbaijan |
