Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan a failed revolution

Problems of Post-Communism

Volumn 53, Issue 3, 2006, Pages 17-35

  Valiyev, Anar M ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 33745659260     PISSN: 10758216     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2753/PPC1075-8216530302     Document Type: Article

References (68)

1. TURAN Information Agency, November 7, 2005.
2. Audrey L. Altstadt, "Azerbaijan's Struggle Toward Democracy," in Conflict, Cleavage, and Change in Central Asia and the Caucasus, ed. Karen Dawisha and Bruce Parrott (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp. 110-56.
3. Audrey L. Altstadt, "Azerbaijan's Struggle Toward Democracy," in Conflict, Cleavage, and Change in Central Asia and the Caucasus, (1997), pp. 110-56. Ibid.
4. Audrey L. Altstadt, "Azerbaijan and Aliyev," Problems of Post-Communism 50, no. 5 (September/October 2003): 3-13.
5. President Elchibey's harsh criticism of the Iranian government for its policy against the Azerbaijani minority in northern Iran worsened Azerbaijani-Iranian relations.
6. "OSCE/UN Report of the OSCE/UN Joint Electoral Observation Mission in Azerbaijan on Azerbaijan's 12 November 1995 Parliamentary Elections and Constitutional Referendum," January 1996 (www.osce.org/ documents/odihr/1996/01/1225_en.pdf).
7. Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, "Presidential Election in the Republic of Azerbaijan, October 11, 1998" (www.osce.org/ documents/odihr/1998/11/1230_en.pdf).
8. Svante Cornell, "Democratization Falters in Azerbaijan," Journal of Democracy 12, no. 2 (April 2001): 118-31.
9. Svante Cornell, "Democratization Falters in Azerbaijan," Journal of Democracy 12, no. 2 (2001): 118-31. Ibid.
10. Both parties lack public support and can hardly be considered a genuine opposition.
11. Before the referendum amendments, twenty-five seats were elected proportionally from nation-wide party lists and 100 seats were elected in single-mandate districts.
12. TURAN, June 18, 2002.
13. Anar Valiyev, "Referendum in Azerbaijan: Next Victory of Azeri President," CACI Analyst (September 11, 2002), www.cacianalyst.org/ view_article.php?articleid=16/.
14. Freedom House, "Azerbaijan," Nations in Transit 2004 (New York: Freedom House. 2005), www.freedomhouse.org/research/nitransit/2004/ index.htm.
15. "Crushing Dissent: Repression, Violence, and Azerbaijan's Election," Human Rights Watch Report 16, no. 1 (January 2004), www.hrw.org/reports/2004/azerbaijan0104/.
16. "One Journalist Missing, Two Others Detained," Reporters Without Borders, October 17, 2003. www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8290/.
17. Anar Valiyev, "Baku Balances Ukrainian Revolution," CACI Analyst (December 15, 2004), www.cacianalyst.org/view_article. php?articleid=2911/.
18. Initially the number of candidates was 2,035.
19. Azerbaijan Election Information Center, http://213.172.90.170/v2/ index.php (in Azeri).
20. The YES/New Policy bloc was formed by the Movement for National Unity, the National Independence Party of Azerbaijan, the Civil Forum for the Sake of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan Social Democratic Party, and several other small political parties and NGOs
21. Shahin Abbasov and Khadija Ismailova, "Parties and Blocs to Dominate Azerbaijan's Parliamentary Polls," Eurasia Insight (September 30, 2005), www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav093005.shtml.
22. All three deputies are known for their extraordinary statements and behavior. For example, in 2003 Jalal Aliyev called Peter Eicher, the OSCE/ODIHR representative in Azerbaijan, a "fascist." Musa Musayev asked parliament to restrict the use of the word "president." He said there were many firms, companies, and organizations led by "presidents," and that was "unacceptable." According to him, there should be only one president in the country. Ahad Abiyev called other deputies "homosexuals. "
23. International Election Observation Mission. Parliamentary Elections, Republic of Azerbaijan, November 6, 2005, Statements of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions (www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2005/11/16889_en.pdf).
24. Preliminary Report of the Election Monitoring Center of the first stage of elections to Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan to be held on November 6, 2005 (www.emc-az.org/eng/me1.html).
25. Anar Valiyev, "Hard Times for President Aliyev," CACI Analyst (April 20, 2005) (www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=3239/).
26. Georgy Gongadze, a Ukrainian journalist and outspoken critic of President Leonid Kuchma, was murdered in September 2000. Kuchma was later implicated in a conspiracy to murder him.
27. A videotape aired on television shows a drunk Bashirli receiving $2,000 from "Georgian" colleagues and promising to pass the money to Ali Kerimli, leader of the Popular Front.
28. "Ruslan Bashirli Was Trying to Establish Cooperation with Armenians and Prepare Diversion Against Azerbaijan," Today.az (August 5,2005), www. today.az/news/politics/20353,html.
29. "Azerbaijan: Police Violence Mars Election Campaign," Human Rights Watch Press Release (October 4, 2005), www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/10/ 04/azerba11819.htm.
30. TURAN, October 9, 2005.
31. "Azerbaijan: Restricted Freedoms Cast Doubt on November Elections," Freedom House Press Release (October 21, 2005), www.freedom-house.org/media/pressrel/102105.htm.
32. OSCE/ODIHR, "Republic of Azerbaijan Presidential Elections 15 October 2003: OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Report" (Warsaw, November 12, 2003). p. 11 (www.osce.org/documents/odi-hr/2003/11/1151_en.pdf).
33. "Azerbaijan: Turning Over a New Leaf," International Crisis Group Report, no. 156 (May 13, 2004) (www.crisisgroup.org/home/index. cfm?id=2752&1=1/).
34. Nakhichevani are the inhabitants of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, the birthplace of Heydar Aliyev. "Yerazlar" is a derogatory name for Azerbaijanis from Armenia.
35. "Azerbaijan: Turning Over a New Leaf."
36. "A Velvet Revolution Brewing in Azerbaijan," STRATFOR Analysis (October 19, 2005).
37. TURAN (October 20, 2005).
38. Day.Az (October 27, 2005) (www.day.az/news/politics/33954. html).
39. "Azerbaijan's 2005 Elections: Lost Opportunities," International Crisis Group Policy Briefing (November 21, 2005) (www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/europe/caucasus/ b040_azerbaijan_s_2005_elections_lost_opportunity.pdf).
40. Michael McFaul, "Transition from Post-Communism," Journal of Democracy 16, no. 3 (July 2005): 5-19.
41. Karen Dawisha and Bruce Parrott, "Democratization and Political Participation: Research Concepts and Methodologies," in The Consolidation of Democracy in East-Central Europe, ed. Karen Dawisha and Bruce Parrott (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997).
42. For additional information, see Farid Guliyev, "Post-Soviet Azerbaijan: Transition to Sultanistic Semiauthoritarianism? An Attempt at Conceptualization," Demokratizatsiya 13, no. 3 (summer 2005): 393-435.
43. Oksan Bayulgen, "Facing the Dilemma of Global Capitalism: the Case of Azerbaijan," Central Asian Survey 22, nos. 2/3 (June/September 2003): 209-20. "Dutch disease" refers to the economic consequences of investing in a non-renewable natural resource rather than building industry and infrastructure.
44. Svante Cornell and Fariz Ismailzade, "The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipe-line: Implications for Azerbaijan," in The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline: Oil Window to the West, ed. S. Frederick Starr and Svante Cornell (Washington, DC: Central Asia and Caucasus Institute, Silk Road Studies Program, 2005), pp. 61-84 (www.silkroadstudies.org/BTC.htm).
45. Daniel Heradstveit, "Democratic Development in Azerbaijan and the Role of the Western Oil Industry," Central Asian Survey 20, no. 3 (2001): 261-288.
46. "Our Caucasian Attitudes Toward Presidents and Revolutions," GORBI Foundation poll, April 2005 (www.gorbi.com/store/en/20050509_190053.PDF).
47. "Monitoring of Electorate's Political Activity in the Pre-Elections Stage in Azerbaijan," AVCIA Social Survey, July 2005 (http://avciya.org/ fce/001/0020/files/EN_VERSION.ppt#291,Slide 1).
48. Alec Rasizade, "Azerbaijan in Transition to the 'New Age of Democracy'," Communist and Post-Communist Studies 36 (2003): 345-72.
49. Khadijah Ismailova, "Azerbaijan: Debate over Exit Polls Threatens] Confidence in Election Results," Eurasia Insight (October 5, 2005), www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav100505.shtml.
50. Anonymous interview with taxi driver, Baku, Azerbaijan, February 2005.
51. Rasizade, "Azerbaijan in Transition."
52. Population Division, Department of Economics and Social Affairs, United Nations, "World Urbanization Prospects: The 2003 Revision Population Database" (http://esa.un.org/unup/).
53. Leonid Parfyonov, "The Last Word: President Ilham Aliyev," Newsweek International (August 29, 2005) (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9023599/site/ newsweek/).
54. Natan Sharansky, The Case for Democracy (New York: Public Affairs, 2004).
55. Jackson Diehl, "Democracy or Duplicity?" Washington Post (July 4, 2005): A17.
56. George Soros, "Azerbaijan Should Seek Real Democracy by Election," Financial Times (September 22, 2005).
57. "Azerbaijan: Turning Over a New Leaf."
58. In 1995, leaders of the Islamic Party were imprisoned for several years on charges of spying for the Iranian special services.
59. Jahan Aliyeva, "Religion Emerges as an Issue for Some Parliamentary Candidates in Azerbaijan," Eurasia Insight (February 22, 2005).
60. Anar Valiyev, "Azerbaijan: Islam in Post-Soviet Republic," Middle East Review of International Affairs 9, no. 4 (December 2005): 1-13.
61. "Prospects of Islamic Revolution in Azerbaijan," Yeni Musavat (November 21, 2005).
62. Thus, Heydar Aliyev's government presented the June 2002 events in Nardaran as an Iranian attempt to destabilize the country.
63. Interview with Ilgar Ibrahimoglu, as cited by Real Azerbaijan (December 16, 2005) at www.realazer.com.
64. "Elections in Azerbaijan Did Not Meet International Standards Despite Some Improvements," OSCE Press Release (November 7, 2005) (www.osce.org/item/16887.html).
65. TURAN, November 7, 2005.
66. Author's anonymous interview, Baku, Azerbaijan, February 2005.
67. Presidential Press Service, Azertac (November 8, 2005)
68. Sharansky, Case for Democracy.