Relations with France at “historic low”
On 26 December, Azerbaijan MFA summoned the French ambassador to Baku, Anne Boillon, and handed over a diplomatic note. The ambassador was informed about the Azerbaijani authorities’ decision to designate two French diplomats in Baku as “persona non grata” and to expel them within 48 hours - although no public explanation was provided officially. In response, France said Baku’s move was “unacceptable” and expelled two Azerbaijani diplomats to Paris. At a briefing on 28 December, the Azerbaijani foreign minister Jeyhun Bayramov stated that, unlike France, Baku has provided evidence for its decision. Bayramov stressed that France-Azerbaijan relations are at a “historic low,” blaming France for its policy of “rendering Azerbaijan-Armenia agenda an integral part of France-Azerbaijani relations” and for overall pro-Armenian stance. On 28 December, Azerbaijan’s Ismayilli town authorities declared they had revoked the “twin city” status with Evian-Le Ba city of France due to the hostile attitude of the latter. Former Azerbaijani diplomat-turned-whistleblower, Arif Mammadov, speculated that, notwithstanding the accusations regarding France’s anti-Armenian position, the reason for deteriorated relations is the ongoing investigations in France into the Aliyev family’s wealth in its territories. Head of the Azerbaijani government’s international relations think tank, Farid Shafiyev, said France is conducting a “diplomatic war” against Azerbaijan and the reason is not only the Armenian diaspora there but also French relations with Turkey.
Pre-election developments: independent candidates hindered
On 7 December, a month prior to the early presidential election, the Central Election Commission (CEC) finalized receiving candidate applications. Until that date, the candidates were required to present a list of 40 thousand eligible citizen signatures. Out of seventeen candidates, CEC registered only three. Incumbent Aliyev was registered the first on 30 December, followed by pro-Aliyev MP Zahid Oruj and the government’s satellite political party chairman Razi Nurullayev. On 6 December, three independent candidates held a protest in front of the CEC against the uneven playing field. They complained that the timeframe for collecting signatures was as short as seven days. CEC officials refused to meet and hear them. In objection, the candidates threw the documents with ten thousand signatures they collected to the door of the CEC. The new oppositional political platform, the Third Republic stated they will not run in the election because the timeframe is not sufficient to promulgate mass voter participation against the backdrop of widespread apathy. The OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission has deployed 11 election experts and 26 long-term observers since 3 January, who will be joined by 280 short-term observers on election day. Within two weeks, the OSCE/ODIHR mission will publish its interim report concerning the state of the electoral environment.
FEATURE ARTICLE: ‘Eternal president’ and transitionary motive in Azerbaijan’s snap election, published on Global Voices.
United States puts Azerbaijan on religious freedom watchlist
On 4 January, the United States put Azerbaijan on the Religious Freedom Watchlist. The country, alongside Algeria, Central African Republic, Comoros and Vietnam, were designated “for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.” Turan news agency’s Washington DC reporter suggested that the designation might potentially lead to sanctions. US Commission on International Religious Freedom recently prepared on the state of religious freedom in Azerbaijan, highlighting the issues of restrictive regulations on religious communities and activities, repression of Shia religious believers and activists, the treatment of Christian cultural sites in Karabakh, failure to introduce provisions on conscientious objection and more. Azerbaijani officials, including MP Jeyhun Mammadov accused the United States of bias. He noted that the United States has engaged in double standards by being silent on the “destruction of 300 Azerbaijani mosques and 500 cemeteries within Armenia.”