Decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan On approving the “Regulations on election of public councils by civil society institutions”

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DECISION OF THE CABINET OF MINISTERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF
AZERBAIJAN
On approving the
‘Regulations on election of public councils by civil society institutions’

With an aim to ensure the enforcement of item 1.1.5 of the Decree #89 of the President of
the Republic of Azerbaijan of 16 January 2014 ‘On implementation of the Law of the Republic
of Azerbaijan # 816-IVQ of 22 November 2013 on Public Participation’, the Cabinet of
Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan decides:
1. “To approve the Regulations on election of public councils by civil society
institutions” (attached).
2. This decision shall enter into force on 1 June 2014.

Artur Rasi-zade, Prime -minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Baku, 30 May 2014
#171

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Approved
by the Decision # 171 of the Cabinet of
Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan
dated 30 May 2014

REGULATIONS
On election of public councils by civil society institutions

1.General provisions

1.1. These Re gulations are prepared in accordance with Article 6.1 of the Law “On Public
Participation” of the Republic of Azerbaijan ( hereinafter – the Law) and they define the rules on
election of public councils by civil society institutions.
1.2. Any citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan with the capacity to act and above 16,
irrespective of his/her race, nationality, religion, language, sex , origin, property, position,
belief, membership in political parties, trade unions and other public unions, who has high
moral values and ethics , experienced or knowledgeable in the relevant field in regards to public
council under central executive authorities, can be a member of the public council.
1.3. Staff members of the central and local executive authority and local self -government
bodies cannot be member s of the public councils established under the said bodies .
1.4. The term of office of the public council shall be two years .
1.5. Central and local executive authorit ies as well as local self -government bodies shall create
all conditions for free formation of a public council and demonstrate equal treatment to all
parties.
2. Organization of elections to a public council
2.1. In accordance with Article 6.1 of the Law, public councils shall be elect ed by civil society
institutions.
2.2. The organization of elections of public councils shall be realized by the same central and
local executive authorit ies and local self -government bodies.
2.3. W ith the purpose of organizing the elections of the public councils , election commissions
consisting of 9 persons shall be established at the central and local executive authorit ies and
local self -government bodies .
2.4. The election commissions shall compose of 4 staff members of the central and local
executive authorit ies and local self -government bodies and 5 members of civil society
institutions ( in relation to public councils at the central executive authority – representatives of
civil society institutions spe cialized in the relevant field ).

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2.5. The exact number of the members of public councils to be operating under the central and
local executive authorit ies and local self -government bodies shall be determined by election
commissions consisting of 5- 15 members by taking into account the diversity of the activity
and workload of this body .
2.6. The activity of the election commissions is limited to organization of elections to the
public council and determination of the number of members of the public council.
2.7. The members of the public councils are elected by the civil society institutions in a meeting
consisting of representatives in equal number of civil society institutions. The membe rs of the
election commissions cannot participate in the voting.
2.8. The c entral and local executive authorit ies and local self -government bodies shall
announce a call for nominati ons of the candidates to the public council, the starting and ending
time of the registration through their official internet site or by other existent means (mass
media, information board, etc.) .
2.9. The period for nominating the candidates and the registration cannot be less that 20
working days and more than 30 working days .
2.10. Each civil society institution may nominate only one candidate to a public council.
2.11. Civil society institution shall add to the application the following documents in regards to
a candidate nominated by it for a public council :
2.11.1. a copy of ID;
2.11.2. CV;
2.11.3. a copy of document confirming the membership of the nominee in any civil society
institution , if applicable .
2.12. In addition to the required documents , the civil society institution may also present other
documents providing more information about the nominee .
2.13. The Election Commission shall examine the request of an individual for the registration
as a candidate for a public council within 3 days and make a relevant decision on it.
2.14. Registration of the nominees is denied only if a person does not correspond to the
requirements set forth in items 1.2, 1.3 and 2.12 of the present Regulations.
2.15. If the nomination of a person is not registered, he shall receive an instant notification by
email or in person with indication of the reasons .
2.16. A person whose nomination to the public council was rejected shall have the right to
appeal to the central and local executive authorit ies and local self -government bodies and/or to
complain to a court.
2.17. Elections to a public council shall be conducted within a month after the end of the
nominati on process.

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2.18. The Election Commission shall declare the list of the registered candidates to a public
council through official internet site or other existent means (mass media, information board,
etc.) .
2.19. The Election Commission by providing equal opportunities to the registered candidates
shall create conditions for the candidates to give more information about themselves through its
official internet site or other existent means (mass media, information board, etc.) as well as
ensure links from its official internet site to other web pages that contain information about
them .
2.20. After completion of the nominating process t he registered candidates may distribute
campaign materials with an aim of pre-election promotion until a day before the elections .
2.21. The information about the t ime and location of the elections to a public council shall be
announced through the official internet site or other existent means (mass media, information
board, etc.) .
2.22. Information about the next elections for forming a new public council and announcement
of a call for candidates to a public council and the start and end dates of the registration shall be
given t wo months before the end of the term of office of a public council through the official
internet site or other existent means (mass media, information board, etc.) of c entral and local
executive authorit ies and local self -government bodies.
2.23. The term of office of a public council ends on the first day when a meeting of the newly
elected public council takes place .
3. Elections to Public Councils
3.1. Irrespective whether a candidate is nominated or not, t he members of a public council are
elected among nominated candidates through secret voting at the joint meeting of civil society
institutions (their regional bodies), equal number of representatives of civil society institutions
in regard s to the central and local executive authorit ies and local self -government bodies
operating in that territory .
3.2. The civil society institution that want their repr esent atives participate in the joint meeting
shall apply to the election commission ten days before the election day by indicating necessary
information about those persons (name , surname, patronymic name, date of birth, address and
contact details).
3.3. The election commission shall carry out the registration of the representatives who will
participate in the joint meeting based on the application from the civil society institutions.
3.4. The representatives of civil society institutions at the joint meeting shall receive a ballot
paper (voting bulletin) prepared by the election commission with the names of nominees .

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3.5. The ballot box shall be placed in the middle of the room visible fr om each site where the
joint meeting is held.
3.6. The civil society institutions’ representatives who participate in the joint meeting shall vote
for the candidates that are equal or less in numbers with the members of the public council.
3.7. The v oting shall be realized by putting a tick in the cells on the right site of the surnames of
the candidates in the ballot paper one vote s for and by throwing the card in to the ballot box.
3.8. The ballot paper shall be void if a number of the marked cells is more than the number of
members of a public council or there is no mark in empty cells.
3.9. The nominees who received more than half of votes of the participants of the joint meeting
shall be considered to be elected to the membership of a public council.
3.10. If the number of candidates who collected sufficient votes to be elected to the public
council will be less than the number of members of the public council, a decision to hold re-
elections for vacant places shall be made within thre e days. The candidates with the majority of
votes in re -elections shall be elected to the vacant places.
3.11. Upon completion of the voting process with the observation of a participant of the joint
meeting the ballot boxes shall be opened by the members of the election commission and the
ballot papers shall be counted.
3.12. The results of the elections shall be declared on the day of elections and t he election
commission shall prepare a protocol on the results.
3.13. If candidates who lost the elections have any concerns on the voting process or the
results , they may apply to the relevant central and local executive authorities and local self –
government bodies and/or appeal to the court.
3.14. The public council shall start its activity by holding its first meeting within 20 days since
the preparation of the protocol on voting results by the election commission .
4. Final Provisions
4.1. The candidates elected to the public council shall receive IDs confirming membership of
the council . A f orm of the ID of the public council ’s members shall be approved by central and
local executive authorit ies and local self -government bodies.
4.2. The members shall not be paid salary, honorarium, reimbursement and other payments for
their work in a public council .
4.3. Public councils formed as a result of the elections shall f unction in accordance with the
rules set force in Article s 7 and 11 of the La w.

Translated by MG Consulting