PACE RATIFIES CREDENTIALS OF AZERBAIJAN DELEGATION
Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe considering the complaint of Andreas Gross held discussions as a result of which 21 Committee members were for and 10 against the issue. After wide debates, the Assembly ratified the credentials of Azerbaijan’s twelve-member delegation, but set out a list of urgent measures needed “to restore confidence in the electoral, and more generally the democratic process” in Azerbaijan - including ensuring that the election rerun in 10 constituencies fully abides by democratic principles - and said it would decide in June whether to reconsider its decision in the light of progress made. On the opening day of the session ten members of the Assembly had supported a challenge to the credentials on substantial grounds by Andreas Gross (Switzerland), one of two co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Azerbaijan, who said that Azerbaijan's recent election was not in line with Council of Europe standards.
After voting, 139 voiced for ratification of credentials of Azerbaijani parliamentarians, while 21 -against.
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