ANCA says Azeri election poorly stage-managed spectacleOctober 11, 2013 - 10:26 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian commented on the Oct 9 presidential election in Azerbaijan and the State Department's assessment of the polls. "The State Department says Azerbaijan's election 'fell short of international standards,' while, in truth, it didn't even come close," Hamparian said. "This wasn't an election at all, but rather a poorly stage-managed spectacle, designed to provide some semblance of political cover for an international community that, sadly, long ago chose to stand aside as the Aliyevs consolidate their private ownership of Azerbaijan and push their one-family rule into a second half-century," he said. Hamparian added, "The citizens of Azerbaijan - and their neighbors in Armenia and Artsakh - deserve better than a petro-monarchy that siphons off the nation's wealth, abuses its own citizens, is driving the region toward renewed war." “The United States continuously urged the Government of Azerbaijan to ensure a free and fair electoral process and to respect the freedoms of assembly, association, and speech. It is with regret that we conclude this election fell short of international standards,” the State Department said in its assessment. “The OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly highlighted in their October 10 preliminary statement serious shortcomings that need to be addressed in order for Azerbaijan to fully meet its OSCE commitments. The United States agrees with this assessment and shares OSCE concerns. Other credible non-government organizations such as the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center reported similar shortcomings. On election day, procedural irregularities were observed including: 1) ballot box stuffing; 2) serious problems with vote counting; and 3) failure to record the number of received ballots. Leading up to election day, the Government of Azerbaijan also maintained a repressive political environment. Authorities interfered with the media and civil society routinely, sometimes violently interrupted peaceful rallies and meetings before and occasionally during the campaign period, and jailed a number of opposition and youth activists.” Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Armenia Security Council chief traveling to Qatar Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan will travel on a working visit to Qatar. Armenian Foreign Minister regrets “tragic loss” of Iranian counterpart The Armenian Foreign Ministry has expressed shock over the death of the Iranian President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Armenian PM sends condolences to Iran Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a message of condolence to the Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Armenia, Turkey discuss restoration of historic bridge The meeting took place on May 17 in Ashgabat on the sidelines of an international conference of ministers of culture. |