Taking into account the fact that Azerbaijan will also be surrounded by democratic changes that occurred all over the world, and this will happen only through elections, as well as considering that since 1992 the Republic of Azerbaijan has failed to hold free, fair and transparent elections by western standards, and provisions mentioned in the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan adopted in 1995 and Electoral Legislation adopted in 1998 and 2003 were limited by further amendments (with the election commissions controlled by the leading party, proportional voting system abolished, duration of election campaigns reduced, registration deposit for candidates cancelled, campaigning through Mass Media restricted, opportunity provided to vote more than once), thus, taking into consideration that the people of Azerbaijan have lost their faith in changes through elections, we – independent lawyers, election specialists, and former members of Central Election Commissions are appealing to the Azerbaijani nation, political parties and non-governmental organizations in Azerbaijan working with elections, and we consider that it is useful to hold discussions, and make proposals through which people can express their opinions on these proposals.
Memorandum on Improvement of Election Legislation in Azerbaijan, 25 January 2012
