The Propaganda-Agitation campaign on the Presidental elections in Azerbaijan started on 17 September 2008.  Seven  candidates are registered to participate in the elections. According to an instruction of the Central Election Commission (CEC),  special places for hanging of the election posters have been organized, and posters characterized as propaganda are prohibited in some places. However, posters of some candidates were put up in prohibited areas, and this is contrary to instruction approved by CEC.  
The OSCE Evaluation Mission published its first report on the pre-election situation in Azerbaijan on 28 September 2008.  The report states that the  recommendations of the EC Venice Commission and of the OSCE are taken into account in the amendments and changes to the Election Code. The Azerbaijan Preparatory Committee declares that the amendments and changes covered only technical matters, but the main recommendations  are not taken into account. First of all, the recommendations on the shaping of the election commissions of the Venice Commission and OSCE are not reflected in the Election Code. In that case, the position of the OSCE Evaluation Mission creates a misunderstanding. It should be noted that the decision by several political parties to boycott the elections, and the refusal of some parties to participate in the elections are mainly due to the fact that these recommendations have not been taken into account.
The present election campaign can be characterized and assessed as the most weak and boring one in comparison to previous elections held in Azerbaijan . This means that the population is not interested in the elections and this creates serious disturbance .
The Preparatory Committee of the IEM in Azerbaijan is monitoring the elections and plans to conduct an exit-poll on election day. In spite of the above-stated issues, the Preparatory Committee of the IEM in Azerbaijan hopes that the elections of 15 October 2008 will respect European standards and that the electors will actively participate.
Surkhan Latifov
The president of Preparatory Committee of the International European Movement in Azerbaijan