Joint Opinion on the Draft Law on Amendments and Changes to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan

The amendments to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan should be considered in the context of previous assessments of the Electoral Code by the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR, as well as OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission reports. The six most recent and most important documents are the Final Opinion on the Amendments to the Electoral Code of the Republic Azerbaijan of 25 October 2005 (CDLAD(2005)029), the Final Report of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission for the 2005 Parliamentary Election (ODIHR.GAL/7/06), the Joint Final Assessment of the Electoral Code of Azerbaijan of 1 September 2003 (CDL-AD(2003)015), the Final Report of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission for the 2003 Presidential election (FR03), the Joint Recommendations of 1 June 2004 (CDL-AD(2004)016rev and JR04) and the interim opinion on the proposed amendments to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan (CDL-AD(2005)018). These documents are interrelated. They contain important suggestions on how to improve the Electoral Code in order to provide a legal framework for elections consistent with international standards. This joint opinion reaffirms the previous recommendations.