POLITICS
USA WELCOMES DECISION OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF AZERBAIJAN
In the press release received from the USA embassy in Azerbaijan, it is stated that the United States Embassy welcomes the decision of the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan to reverse annul the results in additional constituencies that had been affected by electoral fraud in the November 6 parliamentary elections. Since the elections, the Government of Azerbaijan has investigated reports of fraud, overturned the results in one constituency, and canceled the results in ten constituencies and hundreds of individual precincts. We believe that these steps are an important part of ensuring the integrity of the electoral process. The United States looks forward to working closely with the newly elected parliamentarians.
We urge the Government to press ahead with prosecution of those who can be shown to have engaged in electoral fraud. We further urge the Police and Interior Ministry to respect the rights of peaceful free assembly. Finally, we call upon the Government to move expeditiously and re-run the elections in the ten canceled constituencies according to international standards. The United States looks forward to working with the Government to strengthen all democratic institutions, including the new parliament in which all voices – independent, opposition, and ruling party – are heard and its political blocs.