[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 260 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]



109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 260

 Calling for free and fair parliamentary elections in the Republic of 
                              Azerbaijan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 29, 2005

   Mr. Biden (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Lugar, and Mr. 
 Brownback) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Foreign Relations

                            October 20, 2005

             Committee discharged; considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Calling for free and fair parliamentary elections in the Republic of 
                              Azerbaijan.

Whereas the Republic of Azerbaijan is scheduled to hold elections for its 
        parliament, the Milli Majlis, in November 2005;
Whereas Azerbaijan has enjoyed a strong relationship with the United States 
        since its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991;
Whereas international observers monitoring Azerbaijan's October 2003 
        presidential election found that the pre-election, election day, and 
        post-election environments fell short of international standards;
Whereas the International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) in Baku, 
        Azerbaijan, deployed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
        Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe, found that there were numerous 
        instances of violence by both members of the opposition and government 
        forces;
Whereas the international election observers also found inequality and 
        irregularities in campaign and election conditions, including 
        intimidation against opposition supporters, restrictions on political 
        rallies by opposition candidates, and voting fraud;
Whereas Azerbaijan freely accepted a series of commitments on democracy, human 
        rights, and the rule of law when that country joined the OSCE as a 
        participating State in 1992;
Whereas, following the 2003 presidential election, the Council of Europe adopted 
        Resolution 1358 (2004) demanding that the Government of Azerbaijan 
        immediately implement a series of steps that included the release of 
        political prisoners, investigation of election fraud, and the creation 
        of public service television to allow all political parties to better 
        communicate with the people of Azerbaijan;
Whereas, since the 2003 presidential election, the Government of Azerbaijan has 
        taken some positive steps by releasing some political prisoners and 
        working to create public service television;
Whereas the United States supports the promotion of democracy and transparent, 
        free, and fair elections consistent with the commitments of Azerbaijan 
        as a participating State of the OSCE;
Whereas the United States is working with the Government of Azerbaijan, the 
        political opposition, civil society, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, 
        and other countries to strengthen the electoral process of Azerbaijan 
        through diplomatic efforts and non-partisan assistance programs, 
        including support for international and domestic election observers, 
        voter education and election information initiatives, training for 
        candidates and political parties, and training for judges and lawyers on 
        the adjudication of election disputes;
Whereas the Government of the United States has awarded a contract to conduct 
        exit polling throughout Azerbaijan;
Whereas a genuinely free and fair election requires that citizens be guaranteed 
        the right and opportunity to exercise their civil and political rights, 
        free from intimidation, undue influence, threats of political 
        retribution, or other forms of coercion by national or local authorities 
        or others;
Whereas a genuinely free and fair election requires government and public 
        authorities to ensure that candidates and political parties enjoy equal 
        treatment before the law and that government resources are not employed 
        to the advantage of individual candidates or political parties; and
Whereas the establishment of a transparent, free and fair election process for 
        the 2005 parliamentary elections is an important step in Azerbaijan's 
        progress toward full integration into the democratic community of 
        nations: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) calls on the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan 
        to hold orderly, peaceful, and free and fair parliamentary 
        elections in November 2005 in order to ensure the long-term 
        growth and stability of the country;
            (2) calls upon the Government of Azerbaijan to guarantee 
        the full participation of opposition parties in the upcoming 
        elections, including members of opposition parties arrested in 
        the months leading up to the November 2005 parliamentary 
        elections;
            (3) calls upon the opposition parties to fully and 
        peacefully participate in the November 2005 parliamentary 
        elections, and calls upon the Government of Azerbaijan to 
        create the conditions for the participation on equal grounds of 
        all viable candidates;
            (4) believes it is critical that the November 2005 
        parliamentary elections be viewed by the people of Azerbaijan 
        as free and fair, and that all sides refrain from violence 
        during the campaign, on election day, and following the 
        election;
            (5) calls upon the Government of Azerbaijan to guarantee 
        election monitors from the Office for Democratic Institutions 
        and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and 
        Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Azeri political parties, 
        representatives of candidates, nongovernmental organizations, 
        and other private institutions and organizations, both foreign 
        and domestic, unimpeded access to all aspects of the election 
        process;
            (6) supports recommendations made by the Council of Europe 
        on amendments to the Unified Election Code of Azerbaijan, 
        specifically to ensure equitable representation of opposition 
        and pro-government forces in all election commissions;
            (7) urges the international community and domestic 
        nongovernmental organizations to provide a sufficient number of 
        election observers to ensure credible monitoring and reporting 
        of the November 2005 parliamentary elections;
            (8) recognizes the need for the establishment of an 
        independent media and assurances by the Government of 
        Azerbaijan that freedom of the press will be guaranteed; and
            (9) calls upon the Government of Azerbaijan to guarantee 
        freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.
                                 <all>