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The Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre (EMDS) believes that the authorities failed to address shortcomings of the Election Code despite the repeated calls and recommendations of domestic organizations, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and the OSCE/ODIHR.

The Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre (EMDS) prepared a report on the situation of human rights in Azerbaijan covering the year 2018 based on publicly available and alternative sources of information. Their conclusion is that there has not been any progress in the situation of human rights in Azerbaijan in 2018.

EPDE member EMDS notes with regret that the Government of Azerbaijan has taken steps towards restricting freedom of expression on the internet and criminalizing unauthorized assemblies.

On September 26, 2016 Azerbaijan held a hastily called, and controversial, referendum. EPDE has monitored the conduct of international election observer missions.

Оn 26 September 2016 Azerbaijan will hold a referendum which proposes to amend 29 articles of the Constitution.

EMDS received credible allegations that voters providing signatures in favor of registration of opposition candidates faced wide-spread pressure and intimidation and in number of occasions withdrew their signatures.