[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 326 Engrossed in House (EH)]
H. Res. 326
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
July 20, 2005.
Whereas the Republic of Azerbaijan is scheduled to hold elections for its
parliament, the Milli Majlis, in November 2005;
Whereas Azerbaijan has enjoyed a strong relationship with the United States
since its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991;
Whereas international observers monitoring Azerbaijan's October 2003
presidential election found that the pre-election, election day, and
post-election environments fell short of international standards;
Whereas the International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) in Baku,
Azerbaijan, deployed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe, found that there were numerous
instances of violence by both members of the opposition and government
forces;
Whereas the international election observers also found inequality and
irregularities in campaign and election conditions, including
intimidation of opposition supporters, restrictions on political rallies
by opposition candidates, and voting fraud;
Whereas Azerbaijan freely accepted a series of commitments on democracy, human
rights, and the rule of law when that country joined the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe as a participating State in 1992;
Whereas, following the 2003 presidential election, the Council of Europe adopted
Resolution 1358 (2004) demanding that the Government of Azerbaijan
immediately implement a series of steps that included the release of
political prisoners, investigation of election fraud, and the creation
of public service television to allow all political parties to better
communicate with the people of Azerbaijan;
Whereas, since the 2003 presidential election, the Government of Azerbaijan has
taken a number of positive steps by releasing some political prisoners
and working toward the establishment of public service television;
Whereas a genuinely free and fair election requires that citizens be guaranteed
the right and opportunity to exercise their civil and political rights
free from intimidation, undue influence, threats of political
retribution, or other forms of coercion by national or local authorities
or others;
Whereas a genuinely free and fair election requires government and public
authorities to ensure that candidates and political parties enjoy equal
treatment before the law and that government resources are not employed
to the advantage of individual candidates or political parties; and
Whereas the establishment of a transparent, free and fair election process for
the 2005 parliamentary elections would be an important step in
Azerbaijan's progress toward full integration into the democratic
community of nations: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) calls upon the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan to hold
orderly, peaceful, and free and fair parliamentary elections in November
2005 in order to ensure the long-term growth and stability of the
country;
(2) calls upon the Government of Azerbaijan to guarantee the full
participation of opposition parties in the upcoming elections, including
members of opposition parties arrested in the months leading up to the
November 2005 parliamentary elections;
(3) calls upon the opposition parties to fully and peacefully
participate in the November 2005 parliamentary elections, and calls upon
the Government of Azerbaijan to create the conditions for the
participation on equal grounds of all viable candidates;
(4) believes it is critical that the November 2005 parliamentary
elections be viewed by the people of Azerbaijan as free and fair, and
that all sides refrain from violence during the campaign, on election
day, and following the election;
(5) calls upon the Government of Azerbaijan to guarantee election
monitors from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Azeri
political parties, candidates' representatives, nongovernmental
organizations, and other private institutions and organizations, both
foreign and domestic, unimpeded access to all aspects of the election
process;
(6) supports recommendations made by the Council of Europe on
amendments to the Unified Election Code of Azerbaijan, specifically to
ensure equitable representation of opposition and pro-government forces
in all election commissions;
(7) urges the international community and domestic nongovernmental
organizations to provide a sufficient number of election observers to
ensure credible monitoring and reporting of the November 2005
parliamentary elections;
(8) recognizes the need for the establishment of an independent
media and assurances by the Government of Azerbaijan that freedom of the
press will be guaranteed; and
(9) calls upon the Government of Azerbaijan to guarantee freedom of
speech and freedom of assembly.
Attest:
Clerk.