```

[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.
```