Yet, the month of April has passed, and lawmakers have been unable to agree on the composition of the election commissions. The author of the draft, Mr. Shahin Aliyev of the President’s Office suggested the following formula: 18 members, six of which represent the parliamentary majority, six independent deputies and six representing the parliamentary minority. Opposition parties in the country have objected to this formula, because it practically leaves the major opposition parties Musavat, Azerbaijan Democratic Party and Azerbaijan National Independence Party out of the election commissions, since they were not represented in Parliament in the 2000 elections. This formula also gives the majority of votes in the election commissions to the ruling party, as the so-called \"independent deputies\" have always voted in favor of the authorities.

\"We want an election commission that is free of any party’s monopoly\", said Ali Kerimli, chairman of the opposition Popular Front Party during the debates in Parliament. The international community has also been concerned about the issue of election commissions. For these purposes, Council of Europe experts have suggested that the election commissions are formed by both the parties that are represented in parliament and those who gathered at least one percent of votes in the last parliamentary elections. At the same time, the ruling party would have fewer representatives in the election commissions, thus essentially loosing control over the decision-making process. The suggestion was aggressively rejected by deputies representing the Parliamentary majority.

\"It is our country. Why do we have to listen outsiders on our domestic issues?\" rhetorically asked Siyavush Novruzov of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party. Others urged to ignore the international organizations and criticized the activity of the OSCE and Council of Europe representatives in Baku. Double standards, a pro-oppositional stance, and ignorance of the local political situation were the major accusations toward the international institutions.

The deputy speaker Ziyafet Askerov went on even further to practically explain the negative points of Council of Europe\'s suggestions. \"Some of our small towns do not have branches of opposition parties. So, how are we supposed to form election commissions there? Do we have to artificially create opposition parties there? We don\'t have them, so what shall we do then?\" After two day debates, the suggestion was shelved indefinitely and the adoption of the election code still remains in the air.

Meanwhile, the opposition parties have expressed their general satisfaction with the Council of Europe’s formula for the composition of the election commissions. \"While we also have some reservations about it, we think that this formula can be a basis for further work\", said a statement from the Opposition Coordination Center.

The deadlock on the issue of the election code puts the political parties in a difficult situation. The absence of a legislative basis does not allow parties and the Central Election Commission to plan pre-election activities and creates more questions on the legitimacy of the upcoming elections.

Presidential elections in October will be both a challenge and an excellent opportunity for the Government of Azerbaijan to show its commitment to democratic values and principles. In light of mass violations of electoral procedures during the Presidential elections in Armenia, free and fair elections in Azerbaijan can also help the government to boost its image in the West and gain some points in negotiation process with its arch-rival. However, the uncertainly over the election code still makes this process a distant dream.