[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23419-23420]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CALLING FOR FREE AND FAIR PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN THE REPUBLIC OF 
                               AZERBAIJAN

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Foreign Relations be discharged from further consideration of S. 
Res. 260 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 260) calling for free and fair 
     parliamentary elections in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or 
debate, and that any statements relating to this measure be printed in 
the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 260) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 260

       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

[[Page 23420]]

     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.

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