A CARTE BLANCHE FOR REFORMS

Azerbaijani voters approved amendments to the Constitution. On September 26, the vast majority of voters expressed their support to 29 amendments to the Constitution. According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), the popular vote turnout was 69.7%. At the same time, 84.2% of voters said “yes” to the increase of the presidential term in Azerbaijan from five to seven years, while 84.5% supported the introduction of the new institute of vice-presidents. As stated by Mazahir Panahov, Head of the Central Election Commission, 88% of voters supported the new age limit for presidential candidates. In general, 83% to 91% of the population has voted for all items of the referendum.

The official voting results coincide well with the results of exit polls within a relative error. The exit polls were conducted by the Azerbaijani Center for Monitoring “Ray”, the organization “ELS”, a French company “Opinion Way”, and the American company Artur J. Finkelstein & Associates.

As for the voting process, according to the CEC, the referendum was held without any significant violations. Mr. Panahov has acknowledged the fact of only a few cases of mass ballot stuffing and repeated voting. However, he has promised that all violations would be investigated and, if confirmed, the voting results would be canceled.

Observers’ opinion

The international observers have not identified serious violations during the voting process. “The referendum held on September 26 reflects the will of the Azerbaijani people. All procedures comply with the international standards “, reads the statement of the observation mission of the European People's Party. Note that this party holds approximately 60% of the seats in the European Parliament.

The objective of changes and additions to the Constitution of Azerbaijan is to strengthen the management of and to improve the protection of human rights, said Paulina Hayanen, Head of the Mission of the EU Regional Committee. “Based on the observations, we have concluded that the voting process was well prepared from a technical and organizational point of view. We have identified active participation of voters. The voting was held in calm conditions and without undue interference”, quotes Interfax-Azerbaijan the head of the European mission.

Washington has also shown a positive reaction. The State Department’s spokesperson Mark Toner said that the United States recognized the results of the referendum and did not intend to interfere in the issue of presidential terms. “We cannot dictate the results of the democratic process. We cannot dictate presidential terms”, said Toner responding to a question about whether the United States consider the results of referendum compliant with democratic norms.

However, Toner urged the authorities to investigate reports of irregularities during the voting. He has said that the United States intended to continue to work with Azerbaijan to “improve the functioning of democratic institutions”, reports RIA Novosti.

Co-rapporteur of the PACE Monitoring Committee on Azerbaijan Stefan Schennach also said that the constitutional referendum in Azerbaijan was organized transparently and democratically. Alexander Nikoloski, Head of the PACE Assessment Mission, supported his colleague saying that the referendum was organized in accordance with national legislation and is considered as legitimate.

At the same time, PACE mission has expressed regret that the Azerbaijani authorities have not applied to the Venice Commission for assessment of the proposed amendments to the Constitution. The delegation has called on the government of Azerbaijan to respect the opinion of the Venice Commission regarding the application of amendments to ensure a balance between the branches of government and the role of parliament, reports Turan.

By the way, the Venice Commission was perhaps the only institution that had criticized the proposed changes in the Constitution before the referendum. However, as it turned out, the commission issued a “verdict” without being acquainted with the position of the Azerbaijani side, in violation of their own procedures. The report of the Commission has been prepared and made public just in a couple of weeks, whereas usually it takes three months. Considering all these circumstances, the Azerbaijani side has regarded the actions of the Venice Commission as a political order.

Meanwhile, the local opposition, and particularly its radical wing, has demonstrated exactly the same performance resembling a political order. Describing the referendum as an attempt by the authorities to “strengthen authoritarianism” and calling on citizens to boycott the voting, the traditional allies, Popular Front Party and Musavat, instead had failed to consolidate efforts. However, it is unlikely that they would have succeeded anyway given the existing strained relations between the parties and the fragmentation within the opposition camp. Even though the purpose seems to be raising the masses to struggle against the “anti-democratic initiatives”, the customers of these parties seem to have been different, and therefore it was necessary to report to customers separately. But we should fairly note that the authorities had not taken any measures hindering the holding of protests. However, even at the authorized rallies, the opposition could draw only a few hundreds of its supporters without support of the masses.

It was clear long before the referendum that the proposed changes would not cause any complaints. All surveys of international organizations have indicated high level of public confidence in the head of state and public support for the amendments proposed by the President.

It is very simple...

For example, who will oppose the fact that the constitutional provisions on armed forces should allow the country to respond to modern challenges, especially under the circumstances when one fifth of the Azerbaijani territories are occupied by Armenia? Or, who will oppose the fact that the officials should have less interference in private business, especially in existing difficult economic situation? Moreover, about 60% of the amendments aim at ensuring more human rights and freedoms. For example, after the approval of the results of the referendum the lockouts will be prohibited. For those who are not familiar with this concept, lockout means mass layoffs or plant closures by the employer in response to a strike or allegedly high requirements of workers.

There was a number of very important changes, which entailed some natural questions. In any country of the world the citizens will be interested to know: why the presidential terms is extended from five to seven years; why the head of state is empowered with a right to dissolve the parliament, to declare early presidential elections; what is the objective of introducing the institution of vice-presidents; why the age limit is no longer valid for presidential candidates and the members of parliament? The answers to these questions were not long in coming.

“To create an efficient and flexible governance mechanism, and strengthen the vertical of executive power and executive discipline, a number of amendments have been proposed to the Azerbaijani Constitution. This includes the creation of an institute of vice-presidency and the extension of presidential terms to seven years. The institute of vice-presidency has proved itself in international practice as a favorable mechanism to ensure prompt and effective management. The new institute of management will ensure the adequacy of the presidential form of government to modern challenges; create conditions for optimal functionality of state governance mechanism in cases of force majeure; broad the scope of economic reforms and their implementation. The establishment of the new institute also clarifies the mechanism of execution of powers of the President of Azerbaijan, and state governance is insured against possible risks”, said Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan on socio-political affairs Ali Hasanov in his interview with Sputnik-Azerbaijan.

He also added that the extension of presidential terms to two more years should reduce the intensity of elections, which are held in Azerbaijan three times in five years: presidential, parliamentary, and municipal. Firstly, this will save budgetary funds allocated for the intense electoral process. Secondly, the increased time interval between the elections will allow the authorities and citizens to focus on not only political but on economic, social and other spheres of life as well. But most importantly, the head of state will have more time to deliver the government's strategic objectives to a logical conclusion.

In short, the government is preparing a basis for “profound economic transformation”, according to Mr. Hasanov.

There is also a geopolitical component. “Twenty percent of Azerbaijani territories are occupied by Armenia but the measures adopted over the years to resolve the conflict have not yet yielded any results. In addition, our experience shows that some countries in the region are not immune from threats, which can lead to a breach of internal stability and civil confrontation”, said Ali Hasanov.

As soon as the Constitutional amendments enter into force, the age limit for the nomination of candidates for presidential and parliamentary elections will be eliminated. This innovation, as explained by Mr. Hasanov, “is one of the important factors that enables anyone to realize his or her potential and stimulates political participation, especially among young people”. However, this does not mean that anyone, who has reached the age of 18, will be able to run for deputy or president. According to the Azerbaijani legislation, the potential candidate must at least get a higher education, which will take another 4-6 years.

Incidentally, the elimination of age limit for nominees of higher elected positions is not something new. This experience has long been used in some European countries.

Another innovation, which has raised some questions, was the amendment regarding the dissolution of the parliament by the president. According to Ali Hasanov, this should not be interpreted as a weakening of the parliament as a branch of power. This is a kind of insurance for the state, which theoretically can be paralyzed in legal sense of the term. “The President must ensure normal and continuous operation of the state, as well as the branches of the government. A similar mechanism is available in Constitutions of many countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Romania, Russia, etc.”, said the presidential aide.

In short, there is no unanswered question anymore, which is also proven by electoral preferences of the voters. All 23 proposed constitutional amendments and 6 new articles were supported by the citizens of Azerbaijan and, apparently, this will form the basis for fundamental changes in the political and economic life of the country. We will witness some dramatic changes as soon as the results of the referendum are approved.