IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 326
Calling for free and fair parliamentary elections in the Republic of Azerbaijan. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 16, 2005
Mr. GALLEGLY (for himself, Mr. WEXLER, and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on International Relations 
RESOLUTION 
Calling for free and fair parliamentary elections in the 
Republic of Azerbaijan.
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-
•HRES 326 IH 
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 against opposition sup-
porters, restrictions on political rallies by opposition can-
didates, 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 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 some positive steps by re-
leasing 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;
•HRES 326 IH 
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 is 
an important step in Azerbaijan’s progress toward full in-
tegration into the democratic community of nations: Now, 
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) calls on 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 op-
position 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 Govern-
ment of Azerbaijan to create the conditions for the 
participation on equal grounds of all viable can-
didates;
•HRES 326 IH 
(4) believes it is critical that the November 
2005 parliamentary elections be viewed by the peo-
ple of Azerbaijan as free and fair, and that all sides 
refrain from violence during the campaign, on elec-
tion day, and following the election; 
(5) 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-gov-
ernment forces in all election commissions; 
(6) urges the international community and do-
mestic nongovernmental organizations to provide a 
sufficient number of election observers to ensure 
credible monitoring and reporting of the November 
2005 parliamentary elections; 
(7) recognizes the need for the establishment of 
an independent media and assurances by the Gov-
ernment of Azerbaijan that freedom of the press will 
be guaranteed; and 
(8) calls upon the Government of Azerbaijan to 
guarantee freedom of speech and freedom of assem-
bly.
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