Parliamentary elections were held in Azerbaijan on 6 November 2005. They pitted candidates of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) against opposition led by the Azadlıq (Freedom) bloc of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, Musavat and the Azerbaijan Democratic Party. The NAP won 61 of the 125 seats.
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All 125 seats in the National Assembly 63 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
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The elections were not free and fair.[1] Opposition parties were intimidated during the election, campaign workers for opposition parties were imprisoned, and there were allegations of vote-rigging.[1][2] The coverage by media, whether state-run or private, was overwhelmingly pro-government.[1] Dissident media stations were shut down and journalists were repressed.[1] Freedom of assembly was restricted, preventing opposition parties from holding rallies.[1] Workers were threatened with dismissal unless they voted for the incumbent government.[1] In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Aliyev regime had engaged in electoral fraud.[3]
Conduct edit
Human Rights Watch expressed concern about widespread intimidation of opposition supporters, saying that the elections could not be free or fair under such conditions.[4] Several opposition leaders were arrested two days before the elections.[5]
ARTICLE 19 said Azerbaijani authorities were responsible for the violent harassment of journalists covering opposition rallies, frequent attacks and forced closure of independent media outlets, and widespread abuse of state and local resources in favour of pro-government candidates.[6] The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe reported that the vote counting process was "bad or very bad in 43 per cent of counts observed."[7] However, observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States claimed the irregularities "were not of mass character and did not have [an] impact on the free expression of voters' will".[7]
The opposition had hoped for another color revolution, but analysts doubted this would happen. Movements like Yox!, Yeni Fikir or Meqam were not yet ready for revolution according to Emin Huseynov, founder of Meqam.[8]
Results edit
The Central Election Commission reported, with 28% of votes counted, 62% win for the NAP, 3% for the Equality Party, 1% for the APFP, 2% for independent candidates and 2% each to two other small parties. These results were contradicted by a Mitofsky International and Edison Media Research poll which predicted the NAP going from 75 to 56 seats in the 125-member assembly, with the Azadliq bloc winning 12 seats.[9][10]
| Party | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Azerbaijan Party | 61 | –14 | |
| Musavat | 5 | +3 | |
| Civic Solidarity Party | 2 | –1 | |
| Motherland Party | 2 | +1 | |
| Azerbaijan Hope Party | 1 | New | |
| Azerbaijan Social Prosperity Party | 1 | 0 | |
| Justice Party | 1 | New | |
| Democratic Reforms Party | 1 | New | |
| Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party | 1 | New | |
| Great Order Party | 1 | New | |
| Civic Unity Party | 1 | New | |
| Azerbaijani Popular Front Party | 1 | –5 | |
| Azerbaijan Democrat Party | 0 | 0 | |
| Independents | 46 | +16 | |
| Annulled | 1 | – | |
| Total | 125 | 0 | |
| Source: CNIS, CAD | |||
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f "Azerbaijan Parliamentary Elections 2005: Summary". www.hrw.org. 2005.
- ^ Azeri ruling party 'wins' polls BBC News, 7 November 2005
- ^ "European Court Finds Azerbaijan Guilty Of Election Fraud". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
- ^ Azerbaijan: Run-Up to Election Not Free or Fair Human Rights Watch, 31 October 2005
- ^ Azeri opposition leaders arrested BBC News, 5 NOvember 2005
- ^ ARTICLE 19 calls on government to prove its commitment to free and fair elections Archived 2006-06-24 at the Wayback Machine International Freedom of Expression eXchange, 4 November 2005
- ^ a b Azerbaijan elections under close scrutiny Relief Web, 8 November 2005
- ^ Weder orange noch rosarot Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 6 November 2005
- ^ Adventure In Baku: Exit-Polling Azerbaijan, NCPP
- ^ Poll Stir, QBS