How do Baku media cover the presidential elections of Azerbaijan?

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, less than 3 days to the The early presidential election of Azerbaijan has been left on 18th of Bahman.

The election campaign that was launched by the Central Election Commission on 15th of January (25th of January) was launched on 6th of February (17th of Bahman). It will end.

The election headquarters of 7 people whose candidacy for the presidency has been decided, is being conducted in the atmosphere of the detention of journalists and social activists of this country.

In the report of the Office of Democratic Initiatives and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which monitors the elections of the Republic of Azerbaijan, it is stated that there are concerns about the limitation of the free space of the media after the new media law that came into effect in 2022.

In the mid-term report published yesterday by the Election Monitoring and Democracy Education Center, it is pointed out that the “strict control” of the Azerbaijani government over the media has a “limiting” effect on the media’s coverage of the elections. .

How is the media space of Azerbaijan?

According to the evaluation of international organizations about media freedom in the Republic of Azerbaijan, the media environment in this country is under serious pressure.

According to the 2023 Reporters Without Borders report, the Republic of Azerbaijan in The media freedom index ranks 151 among 180 countries.

In the report of this institute, it is mentioned: The heads of media regulatory organizations as well as journalists’ organizations are appointed by the government. Authorities use pro-government media to threaten critics.

Furthermore, Reporters Without Borders said that media laws have become an “increasingly repressive” tool over the past 20 years. The new media law, which came into force in February 2022, has been assessed as “legalizing censorship”. , coverage of early presidential elections will not be possible for all journalists.

According to statistics from the International Research and Exchange Council (IREX), an American organization specializing in global development, education and civic activities, The information space of the Republic of Azerbaijan has become more limited in the last 3 years.

The IREX report is ready: the vast majority of mass media in the Republic of Azerbaijan do not have editorial independence, the information they publish is based on facts. and they publish information that harms others. People do not have the right or the means to access vast information. They are deprived of a wide choice of information.

Since November 2023, more than 10 journalists have been arrested in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Although some of them have been released due to the end of their imprisonment, there are also newly arrested people.

Political analysts believe: since the critical media in the Republic of Azerbaijan were “completely silent”. , people were forced to watch foreign media in Azerbaijani language to hear anti-government views. It is not clear whether their arrest is related to the upcoming presidential elections.

Most of the arrested media representatives are employees of “Abzas Media” and “Kanal13” internet network. Both media outlets are known for publishing investigative material on the corrupt actions of government officials.

On January 24, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stated that the state of conducting free and fair elections in the Republic of Azerbaijan is “very is “worrisome”, decided not to approve the accreditation of the delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan in this institution. The state of political freedoms and civil rights in this country has been included in the list of “unfree” countries for 20 consecutive years.

How is the election coverage?

Advertising for the presidential election of Azerbaijan started on January 25 and will continue until February 17 at 8 am.

The seven people whose candidacy for the presidency has been confirmed, on public television and radio, as well as in the state media “Azerbaijan”, “Roznameh Khalq”, “Respublika” and “Bakinski Rabuchi” newspapers. given to advertise for free in these 22 days. Candidates can also run their campaigns on a paid basis.

Public television broadcasts a one-hour debate between the candidates 3 times a week. As expected, President Aliyev will not participate in these debates and will send his representative to these debates. Public television concluded that none of the other 6 candidates tried to criticize the current president, create an image of a real challenger to him and act as a representative of an alternative political force ambitious to gain political power.

It is reflected in the statement of this organization: the space for political alternatives, which is the main condition for free and fair elections, has not been provided.

In addition, according to this Referring to open sources, in 2023, 85 people with political motives have been introduced to criminal liability and arrested for them. Meanwhile, the number of people who went to prison for political motives in 2023 was 39 people. The Republic of Azerbaijan has decreased by 2 times in the last 6 months.

Based on these facts, this organization believes that on the eve of the elections, the crisis of supporting political freedoms in the Republic of Azerbaijan has deepened. , restrictions on freedom of expression, free assembly and association have not been removed and the number of arrests of people with political motivation has increased. The number of political parties has halved before the elections, the ban on the activities of independent civil society organizations and independent media, as well as the harassment of journalists and social activists has increased. As a result, there was no favorable democratic environment for the active participation of civil society organizations and political parties in the early presidential elections on February 7.

Social media users of the debates held on the YouTube channel of a television channel. mocked and called it fake, and then the TV channel closed the comments section of the YouTube channel.

A total of 44 media organizations referred to the Central Election Commission to conduct paid election campaigns. However, except for President Aliyev, only one candidate, Gudrat Hasangoliyev, used a monetary campaign.

From the financial report published by the Central Election Commission regarding the electoral budget of the presidential candidates. The Republic is clear that, unlike the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, other candidates do not have enough funds to conduct paid election campaigns.

According to the second financial report published by this organization, Ilham Aliyev who has The election fund is 720 thousand manats, he is the leader in this list, and the capital he has spent so far on pre-election campaigns is more than 480 thousand manats.

The election budget of other candidates is between 62 It ranges from 1,000 to 2,500 manats, and most of them have already spent the funds in their account.

4 of the candidates – Fazel Mustafa, Zahid Arouj, Razi Noorullahif and Elshad Musayev – from the pages They use Facebook to carry out their election campaign.

Online media sources “Masavat TV” and “Toplum TV” are the media that have the most coverage in the election process, including interviews with some They had presidential candidates.

On January 24, Eqavan TV organized a live discussion about the dullness of the election campaign process in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

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