ECtHR starts considering eight complaints from Azerbaijan about violations at 2010 parliamentary elections

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has accepted for consideration eight complaints lodged by Azerbaijani citizens and dealing with violations of their rights during the 2010 parliamentary elections, said Intigam Aliev, the head of the Legal Education Society of Azerbaijan. The total number of complaints about the above elections, now considered by the ECtHR, has reached 51.

"All the applicants raise the issue of violating their right to free elections guaranteed by Article 3 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the right to "effective legal proceedings" provided for by Article 13 of the ECHR," Intigam Aliev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"The complaints deal with the falsification of the elections, including illegal interference of the authorities into the election process, the use of administrative resources in favour of the ruling party and its candidates, and unfair consideration of complaints by election commissions and courts. The government has been given three months to respond to these questions," said Intigam Aliev.

Strasbourg Court’s rulings are not only about money compensations, says head of NGO ‘Law and Development’ Khafiz Gasanov, who is representing the interests of one of the applicants Ilkham Guseinly in ECtHR.

‘The authorities must modernize the election practices so that violations are not repeated. But it doesn’t work that way here’, Khafiz Gasanov told the ‘Caucasian Knot’ correspondent.