The Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS) is a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting free and fair elections, protecting civil and political liberties, fostering civil society development, and strengthening democratic institutions in Azerbaijan.
The observations carried out by EMDS during the preliminary phase of the early presidential election set for February 7, 2024, encompassing candidate nomination and registration, as well as the pre-election campaign activities, are based on official reports, documents, information collected from publicly available sources, and the accounts of registered observers.
EMDS considers that scheduling the presidential election 14 months in advance, for February 7, 2024, posed challenges for the participation of all stakeholders in the electoral process, including political parties, presidential candidates, and engagement of civil society organizations, and international election observers.
Despite the three-year gap since the last parliamentary election, EMDS emphasizes that Azerbaijani government have not demonstrated political political will to study and implement prior recommendations from both local and international observers, including the OSCE Bureau of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights that aimed at improving electoral legislation and process.
EMDS expresses regret in reporting that on the eve of the February 7, 2024 early presidential election, the crisis in the protection of political freedoms has deepened in the country, restrictions on freedom of expression, free assembly and association have not been ceased, and the number of politically motivated arrests has increased. Furthermore, the number of political parties has halved, independent civil society organizations and media outlets face bans on their activities, and journalists and social activists face persecution. Consequently, the absence of a conducive democratic environment hindered the active engagement of civil society organizations and political parties in the early presidential election on February 7.
During the pre-election period, the presidential candidates’ campaigns failed to create genuine competition among opposing political forces, depriving voters of the opportunity to choose from a variety of political perspectives. Consequently, the essential condition of free and fair elections, a political alternativity, remained unfulfilled.
EMDS emphasizes the significance of conducting the upcoming phase of the February 7, 2024 presidential election – the voting and vote-counting processes, in adherence to established legal standards. EMDS calls upon Azerbaijani authorities to exhibit political will in preventing any interference by executive bodies and other state institutions in the electoral process, while also ensuring the independent functioning of election commissions.
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