The Venice Commission , in its “ Opinion on the draft law on amendments to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2008 ” 34 , referred to the previous amendments to the Electoral Code .
Giving great importance to the conduct of elections and the protection of candidates ' rights in this package of proposals , the VC referred to the reduced time of the election campaign and electoral processes . In this regard , the document states that most of the changes were related to the reduction of the official campaign duration by almost half . The official start of the campaign period has been decreased to 28 days from 60 . Moreover , the deadline for announcing elections has been reduced from 120 to 75 days , and the deadline for organizing constituencies has been reduced from 115 days to 70 days before the start of voting 35 .
These changes have their negative consequences . These consequences have negatively affected the rights of voters . If identical circumstances for providing information to voters were restricted some weeks earlier from Election Day , then the right of voters to get notice has been remarkably restricted . The reduction of the start of the official campaign period was also negative . This meant that voters , as well as candidates , particularly opposition candidates , did not have enough time to familiarize citizens with their election programs .
The VC also noted that Article 181.1 36 of the Electoral Code had been amended : “ To reduce the number of signatures required for the presidential election from 45,000 to 40,000 ”. However , it was suggested that Article 181.2 be amended to allow every voter to submit signatures to only 1 probable candidate . Unfortunately , this proposal was ignored by the Azerbaijani authorities .
The document also refers to the coverage of election campaigns on television and radio . Article 77.1 37 , which was also amended , contains a problematic point , which states that the election campaign will be conducted through state television and radio broadcasting organizations . The VC had a negative interpretation of this , noting , " News and political coverage , forums or articles on radio and state television must respect the principle of juridical equality . Biased coverage or
34
Venice Commission and the OSCE / ODIHR , Joint opinion on the draft law on amendments and changes to the electoral code of the republic of Azerbaijan of 2008
35
Venice Commission and the OSCE / ODIHR , Joint opinion on the draft law on amendments and changes to the electoral code of the republic of Azerbaijan of 2008
36
Azərbaycan Respublikasının , Azərbaycan Respublikasının seçki məcəlləsi , Bölmə 6 , Maddə 181.1 , 2003 , last modified March 25 , 2021 , http :// www . e-qanun . az / code / 17
37
Azərbaycan Respublikasının , Azərbaycan Respublikasının seçki məcəlləsi , Bölmə 2 , Maddə 77.1 , 2003 , last modified March 24 , 2021 , http :// www . e-qanun . az / code / 17
42