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AZERI AMBASSADOR ADDRESSES US CONGRESS
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Oct 13 2005
Baku, October 12, AssA-Irada
The Azeri ambassador to the United States Hafiz Pashayev has addressed
a roundtable at the US Congress organized by the Washington Institute
on Religion and Public Policy.
Pashayev spoke of the ongoing campaigns for the November 6 parliament
elections, steps at ensuring human rights, as well as democratic and
economic reforms being implemented by the Azerbaijan government.
The ambassador mentioned that after Azerbaijan passed its Constitution,
the country held two presidential and two parliamentary elections. He
admitted that some irregularities were observed in the electoral
process, explaining this by the fact that the 'election ethic' is
new to the former Soviet Union republics.
"The report of the OSCE on the pre-election period was positive,
but issues remain to be addressed."
The ambassador said that the May 11 presidential decree on improving
election practices provided a favorable basis for holding a free and
fair poll.
"The main issue before the government is currently to ensure that
the election process is not interfered with by local executive
authorities."
Pashayev cited changes observed since previous elections, including
the fact that more than 2000 candidates are contesting 125 seats in
parliament, the considerable number of international observers and
allowing the ethnically-Armenian citizens of Azerbaijan living in
Upper Garabagh to participate in the vote.
The roundtable was attended by members of Congress, representatives
of diplomats accredited in Washington, non-government organizations
and media.*
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Oct 13 2005
Baku, October 12, AssA-Irada
The Azeri ambassador to the United States Hafiz Pashayev has addressed
a roundtable at the US Congress organized by the Washington Institute
on Religion and Public Policy.
Pashayev spoke of the ongoing campaigns for the November 6 parliament
elections, steps at ensuring human rights, as well as democratic and
economic reforms being implemented by the Azerbaijan government.
The ambassador mentioned that after Azerbaijan passed its Constitution,
the country held two presidential and two parliamentary elections. He
admitted that some irregularities were observed in the electoral
process, explaining this by the fact that the 'election ethic' is
new to the former Soviet Union republics.
"The report of the OSCE on the pre-election period was positive,
but issues remain to be addressed."
The ambassador said that the May 11 presidential decree on improving
election practices provided a favorable basis for holding a free and
fair poll.
"The main issue before the government is currently to ensure that
the election process is not interfered with by local executive
authorities."
Pashayev cited changes observed since previous elections, including
the fact that more than 2000 candidates are contesting 125 seats in
parliament, the considerable number of international observers and
allowing the ethnically-Armenian citizens of Azerbaijan living in
Upper Garabagh to participate in the vote.
The roundtable was attended by members of Congress, representatives
of diplomats accredited in Washington, non-government organizations
and media.*
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress