Upon invitation of the Parliament of Azerbaijan (Milli Məclisi Azərbaycan Respublikasinin), the 40th National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria, determined 8th Members of the Bulgarian Parliament to visit Azerbaijan from 15th till 19th of March 2009 and to carry out observation of the popular vote (Referendum), held on March 18, 2009, proposing amendments and changes to the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The team of observers from the Bulgarian Parliament (the National Assembly) consists of the following MPs: Dimitar Gandev, Daut Osman, Ivan Ilchev, Ivan Grizanov, Yordan Yordanov, Nikola Prodanov, Petar Mratskov, Yusein Dzhemil. The MPs had experience in observing elections in Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Mr. Daniel Stoyanov, Member of the Pardon Board under the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, who has previous experience in the Parliamentary Elections in the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2000, 2005, 2006, the Presidential Elections in 2003 and the Municipal Elections in 2004 was appointed as the chief legal expert of the mission.
The Bulgarian Delegation on 16th of March, met and talked with representatives of different referendum campaign groups in several Baku streets. The delegation noticed the young age of the members of campaign groups (19 to 24 years old boys and girls) who freely spread campaign materials among people and in our conversation stated that in their activities no one was making attempts for influence or intimidation. This should be marked as an example for freedom of expression and democratic achievement, showing the sincere interest of young generation to the proposed Constitutional amendments, and that young generation is not indifferent to the future development of their own country.
On 16th of March, the Delegation hold meeting with Bulgarian Ambassador Mr. Vasil Kalinov, who briefed the MPs about the social, economic and political environment in Azerbaijan Republic at the fall of Referendum day and the positive attitude of EU Ambassadors to the recent democratic development in Azerbaijan Republic.
On the Voting Day, our four teams of observers covered 104 polling stations in eleventh constituencies in town Baku and its surroundings, namely – 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 35, 36, 128. The following statement represents a summary of their reports on the observation of the voting procedure.
At the beginning of the Election Day the voting activity was relevantly low as at 10 o’clock it was around 13 %, but further on during the day voters have become more active. For example around 13 o’clock we observed PECs where the voters’ turnout reached 55 %. At the time of closing of the polling stations the voters turn out by our personal observations was between 70 and 75 %. The participation of younger voters, between 18 – 35 years old, was extremely high. All voters showed that they were familiar in advance with the voting procedure and the proposed amendments and changes in the Constitution. This is due to the information campaign of Central Election Commission about the Referendum, which should serve as an example to other democratic countries. In spite of the relatively high for European countries voter’s turnout on popular votes and the complicated ballot paper, overcrowding of voters in front of the polling stations was not observed and every voter experienced the chance to express his/her will in favour or against the proposed changes in the Azerbaijani Constitution.
At all observed polling stations were presented local and foreign observers, representatives of different referendum campaign groups with whom we have discussed the election process and they were unanimous in their conclusion, that voting was conducted in a normal and tranquil atmosphere. No cases of violence were reported. The surroundings of the polling stations were calm; there was no apprehension whatsoever. The members of the Precinct Election Commissions have discharged their functions in a proficient manner within the competencies granted by law and were executing their duties without any tension and in confident manner.
In all monitored polling stations, voting had started on time and no organisational obstacles and violations were observed. Everywhere the voting rooms provided the necessary conditions for conducting of the voting in accordance with the requirements of the Election Code and best democratic practices. Especially should be noticed the presence from 8 till 12 voting compartments in every precinct which smoothed the voting process. All legally required information was available on the notice boards located inside the voting room. The order and organization of the voting were estimated as excellent in 75 % and very good in 15 % of the observed voting places.
There were no representatives of the law enforcement authorities in the polling stations or nearby, except for voting. No cases of senior local officials controlling the process and seeking to influence voters were reported.
The verification of voter identity was done properly according to the provisions of the Electoral Code. All polling stations were provided with the necessary technical equipment. The established in 2005 year procedure for marking the voters’ thumbs was followed strictly. The members of the Precinct Election Commissions have strictly discharged their functions. The respective edge of the ballot paper was signed and clipped off and the thumbs of the voters were marked. Thus the voting process was organized in such a manner to exclude any possibility for multiple voting whatsoever, guaranteed by the marking of the thumbs of voters and the special number of each ballot paper. There were no reported cases of voting outside the voting booth and of PEC members and other persons intruding on voter’s privacy or otherwise attempting to see how voters had voted. Especially we must state the PECs №№ 7 and 10 in constituency 20; 8 and 9 in constituency 21; 2 in constituency 27; 1 and 3 in constituency 35 where voting was organized and conducted in a manner that can serve as an example for many countries around the world including Europe and USA.
Full co-operation was granted to our observers as they were in no way impeded from performing their rights and were given full access to all visited voting stations by the chairpersons and members of the Precinct Election Commissions. At the same time should be mentioned the enormous interest of mass media to cover the voting day as our observation teams were interviewed by AzTV, ATV, Lider, internet news agencies and radio stations about the impressions from the voting.
CONCLUSIONS:
In our opinion, the popular vote (Referendum) was held in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution of Azerbaijan and the Election Code in the view of best democratic values, international standards for holding democratic popular vote (Referendum) and the good democratic practices of the member states of the EU and PACE. The vote was conducted in calm and normal atmosphere and proves the ability of Azerbaijani Government to ensure the expression of the free will of Azerbaijani people and their choice in favour or against the proposed changes in Azerbaijani Constitution. There are sufficient guarantees of legal, procedural and organizational nature for holding free, fair and democratic vote and there are no shadows of doubt about that the final results of the vote represents the free and decisive will of Azerbaijani people towards the democratic development of the country.
18.03.2009
Baku, Azerbaijan Signed:
Dimitar Gandev:
/Member of Bulgarian National Assembly/
Daut Osman:
/Member of Bulgarian National Assembly/
Ivan Ilchev:
/Member of Bulgarian National Assembly/
Ivan Grizanov:
/Member of Bulgarian National Assembly/
Yordan Yordanov:
/Member of Bulgarian National Assembly/
Nikola Prodanov:
/Member of Bulgarian National Assembly/
Petar Mratskov:
/Member of Bulgarian National Assembly/
Yusein Dzhemil:
/Member of Bulgarian National Assembly/
Daniel Stoyanov:
/Member of Administration of Bulgarian President/