According to the "On Political Parties" law implemented from 2023, a political party must have at least 5,000 members to be registered by the state. In the law effective from 1992-2022, 1,000 members were sufficient for state registration. The tightening of this requirement has resulted in more than a two-fold decrease in the number of political parties in Azerbaijan—from 59 to 26—and no new parties are being established.
Is it possible to soften the "On Political Parties" law and lower the minimum membership requirement for registration to less than 5,000?
Medianews.az website has addressed this question to party leaders.
Natig Jafarli, Chairman of the Political Committee of the Republican Alternative Party, stated that, in fact, in a country of 10 million people, the requirement of 5,000 members is not that high: "However, the approach to the issue should change. A proportional election system should be introduced, and instead of the number of party members, the number of voters should be taken into greater account. For instance, if candidates of a party participating in elections by proportional lists receive more than 10,000 votes, that party could be officially considered registered. That is, it is possible to apply such an approach. But since 2005, our parliamentary elections have been held exclusively through the majoritarian system; the proportional method was abolished in 2002."
According to Natig Jafarli, the requirement that political parties have at least 5,000 members to be registered presents certain difficulties: "But again, I say, in a country of 10 million this should not be regarded as a very heavy requirement. As I emphasized earlier, changing the approach is more important. In the future, transitioning to a proportional election system and determining party registration based on the number of voters in the law would be better. This would also turn into a step encouraging parties' participation in elections."
Tural Abbasli, Chairman of the White Party, also considers the 5,000-member requirement normal: "If you want to operate as a political party, you should at least be able to attract 5,000 people to the party. Otherwise, 3-5 people can also come together and create a party. I would not link the weakness of party activity in Azerbaijan to the 5,000 threshold. The problem lies more in the absence of privileges for parties as political players and the state's failure to provide sufficient conditions for parties' work. For example, the state allocates at least a small office for party headquarters in the capital. In the regions, however, offices are a significant issue."
"The financing issue is very problematic. Parties must have district organizations, branches, and networks reaching every residential area. Funds are needed to maintain this structure. Our parties receive symbolic financing from the state; the funds allocated by the state are insufficient for extensive political activity. Without donations and membership fees, parties can hardly operate. Except for the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, no other party in Azerbaijan has normal, standards-compliant financing. In this respect, all parties other than the ruling one operate mostly through sacrifice and heroism. I am not even mentioning the artificial obstacles created for parties in political processes or the problems facing party candidates in elections. Despite all this, the existence of so many parties in the country is itself a remarkable event," he said.
Tural Abbasli believes there is a need for a new law on political parties: "The new law should correspond to Azerbaijan's new conditions and be written considering the real political scene. Serious steps are necessary to strengthen parties' activities. This is a broad issue. I’ll mention one point only. A political party is primarily formed based on the votes it obtains in elections, especially parliamentary ones. When a citizen wants to participate in a parliamentary election as neutral, they present only 3-5 documents to the election body, but to run as a party candidate, they must prepare and submit 15-20 documents. However, party candidates should be registered more easily than a person who might have decided to join the political process almost by accident. Numerous such issues can be listed. Therefore, I emphasize once again that the "On Political Parties" law should be radically changed and essentially rewritten. Only the application of new standards can pave the way for parties to operate normally and competitively."
Arzukhan Alizade, Chairman of the National Independence Party and member of parliament, says that since the 5,000-member requirement took effect in 2023, parties annually submit information about their members to the state register: "Each time, the register is updated based on data about new members, deceased members, or those who left the party. It appears that political parties do not have serious concerns regarding this requirement of the law. At least, it does not seem that the parties currently registered with the state are dissatisfied. Therefore, I do not think that the issue of having less than 5,000 members will be raised again or a proposal to change the limit will be made in the near future. The law is still newly applied. From this perspective, I do not expect any changes regarding party membership numbers in the near term. There is no visible process that could justify this."
Mutallim Rahimov, Chairman of the Justice Party, believes that first, attitudes toward political parties and their place in society and state life must be properly defined: "The number of members and parties, the registration procedure, and similar issues are secondary. Currently, institutional problems in politics should be kept in focus. A political party is not created merely to say the opposite of what the government says. They must be able to mobilize society to defend the state, prove through their behavior that they are an alternative force to the government. For this, the number is not the main thing; the attitude, influence, and scientific-political potential are essential. Having many members does not necessarily mean a political party is strong."
In my opinion, the 5,000-member requirement for party registration arose from the need to regulate their activities. Because parties created by inadequate individuals that consist virtually only of the chairperson discredited political institutions as a whole. The new law helped eliminate this gap. Now, the mission of political parties becomes increasingly clear to society. Their influence grows, and their impact capabilities strengthen. Society and political institutionalization constantly change and develop. Accordingly, the membership number requirement for party registration can be revisited in the future."
Naile Gasimova,
Medianews.az
Note: This article was prepared on the topic of "Protection of human rights and freedoms, raising the level of citizens’ legal and political culture, increasing social and political activity" with the financial support of the Media Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan and in accordance with competition conditions.
