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
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.