H. Res. 326
In the House of Representatives, U.S., 
July 20, 2005.
Whereas the Republic of Azerbaijan is scheduled to hold elec-
tions 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 Oc-
tober 2003 presidential election found that the pre-elec-
tion, election day, and post-election environments fell 
short of international standards; 
Whereas the International Election Observation Mission 
(IEOM) in Baku, Azerbaijan, deployed by the Organiza-
tion 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 in-
equality and irregularities in campaign and election con-
ditions, including intimidation of opposition supporters, 
restrictions on political rallies by opposition candidates, 
and voting fraud;
•HRES 326 EH 
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 Co-
operation 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 imple-
ment a series of steps that included the release of polit-
ical prisoners, investigation of election fraud, and the cre-
ation of public service television to allow all political par-
ties to better communicate with the people of Azerbaijan; 
Whereas, since the 2003 presidential election, the Govern-
ment 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 citi-
zens 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 oth-
ers; 
Whereas a genuinely free and fair election requires govern-
ment 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 to-
•HRES 326 EH 
ward 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 Novem-
ber 2005 parliamentary elections; 
(3) calls upon the opposition parties to fully and 
peacefully participate in the November 2005 parliamen-
tary elections, and calls upon the Government of Azer-
baijan 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 Azer-
baijan as free and fair, and that all sides refrain from 
violence during the campaign, on election day, and fol-
lowing the election; 
(5) calls upon the Government of Azerbaijan to 
guarantee election monitors from the Office for Demo-
cratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organiza-
tion for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),
•HRES 326 EH 
Azeri political parties, candidates’ representatives, non-
governmental organizations, and other private institu-
tions 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 representa-
tion of opposition and pro-government forces in all elec-
tion commissions; 
(7) urges the international community and domestic 
nongovernmental organizations to provide a sufficient 
number of election observers to ensure credible moni-
toring and reporting of the November 2005 parliamen-
tary 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.