Azerbaijan, Baku, 14 May / Trend corr. I.Alizade / If the amendments and supplements, developed as a result of joint discussions between the Azerbaijani government and Council of Europe Venice Commission, will be passed then the opposition parties will boycott the presidential elections.
"The amendments and supplements into the Election Code will negatively affect the participation of opposition parties in the elections," Panah Huseyn, a member of Musavat party MP group stated in the meeting of the standing Parliamentary Commission on Legal Policy and State Building.
Under the previous version of the Election Code, AzTV used to allocate 6 hours free air time to candidates in a week. Three hours were allocated on TV and three on radio. Furthermore, agitation materials by the candidates were also printed in the newspapers, which was financed by the state
Huseyn stated that the amendments proposed into the Code, carries a technical character. "Several amendments just will worsen the election practice. The prohibition to hold agitation campaign of candidates on the State-run television and radio will limit the possibilities of opposition," Huseyn said.
Ali Huseynov, Chairman of the standing Parliamentary Commission on Legal Policy and State Building, stated that the amendments into the Code cover all the political parties and do not limit the possibilities of the opposition.
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