Statement: Azerbaijan 2024 parliamentary “elections”: No domestic observation possible
On September 1, 2024, Azerbaijan held snap parliamentary elections under heavily restricted conditions, with fundamental freedoms such as expression, assembly, association, and information severely curtailed. The Aliyev regime escalated repression, preventing independent media coverage and citizen election monitoring. Anar Mammadli, leader of a prominent election observation NGO and a Václav Havel Human Rights Prize laureate, […]
Webinar: Political and Legal Framework Guiding Presidential Elections and Constitutional Referendum on EU Integration in Moldova
Pre-election briefing hosted in partnership with Promo-LEX Association on political and legal framework guiding presidential elections and constitutional referendum on EU integration in Moldova. This online event presents the political and legal framework for these elections, including an in-depth overview of the acts of law governing them and the referendum provided by the representatives of […]
Webinar: Joint Lessons from the 2024 European Parliament Elections
Now that the European Elections 2024 are behind us, it is time to explore the lessons learned! Join the SEEEDS webinar on 24 September 2024, 04:00 PM CET, where we discuss the findings of the Election-Watch.EU Election Assessment Mission (EAM) to the 2024 European Parliament Elections. AGENDA 16:00 Welcome and Opening Remarks by Roy Virah-Sawmy, […]
European Civil Society Call Upon New Secretary General of Council of Europe to Prioritise Human Rights in Azerbaijan
A wide group of European civil society organisations wrote to Alain Berset, new Secretary General of the Council of Europe, on his first day in office, calling upon him to prioritise the human rights crisis in Azerbaijan, marked by the detention of Vaclav Havel Award winner Anar Mammadli alongside over 300 other political prisoners. Alain […]
Four years after Marfa Rabkova’s arbitrary detention, repression against Viasna members must end
Four years ago, on September 17, 2020, Viasna member Marfa Rabkova was arbitrarily detained. To this day, she remains unlawfully imprisoned. On the fourth anniversary of her detention, the Observatory for the protection of human rights defenders (FIDH-OMCT) and Viasna reiterate their call for her immediate and unconditional release, as well as the release of the other […]
Who can be disqualified to stand for elections in the post-conflict period, and how
Restrictions on the exercise of the right to be elected following the consequences of the occupation: international standards and discussions on the introduction in Ukraine Article by Civil Network OPORA Background Political rights are designed to enable the participation of citizens in the socio-political life of the country and the management of public affairs. They can […]
Call to PACE Bureau to prioritise release of Anar Mammadli
In a context of a notable intensification of repression occurring in Azerbaijan in the aftermath of the presidential election on 7 February 2024 and the parliamentary election on 1 September 2024, we call upon PACE to prioritise the release of Anar Mammadli ahead of COP29. In their letter to the Bureau members of the Parliamentary Assembly of […]
Electoral Campaign Finances Reform: What Recommendations of International Observation Missions Were Taken Into Account?
By Bohdan Mohonchuk, Civil Network OPORA For years, Civil Network OPORA has been advocating changes in political finance, as well as engaging in surveys and awareness raising effort in this domain. On July 30, 2024, a discussion took place regarding amendments to the legislation about responsibility for violating the political finances rules. Also, recently, the research was published regarding political parties funding and the […]
Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia: pressure on human rights defenders intensifies
The human rights situation in some post-Soviet countries continues to deteriorate. It is particularly noticeable in Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Viasna offers a selection of repressions against human rights defenders, independent media representatives and public activists in August. Azerbaijan: “Abzas Media Case”, persecution of Anar Mammadli and new political prisoners New charges against those arrested […]
Promo-LEX Association has launched the Observation Mission for the election of 20 October 2024
Promo-LEX Association has launched the Observation Mission for the presidential election and constitutional referendum of 20 October 2024. The observation will cover the entire election period, including election day and, if necessary, the second round of voting. The core team of the Mission and 45 long-term observers (LTOs), together with about 740 short-term observers (STOs), […]
