2007 Assessment

This peer-reviewed country report includes:

Integrity Indicators Scorecard: Scores, scoring criteria, commentary, references, and peer review perspectives for all 304 Integrity Indicators.

Reporter's Notebook: An on-the-ground look at corruption and integrity from a leading local journalist.

Corruption Timeline: Ten years of political context to today's corruption and integrity issues.

Country Facts: Statistical context for each country.

Azerbaijan's legal framework is strong, scoring alongside the United States, Canada and Japan in a purely legal assessment. However, enforcement of these laws is another matter — the disparity between these two realities is among the most extreme in the world. Azerbaijan lacks transparency, leading to ineffective oversight. Limits on individual and corporate donations to political parties exist but are not enforced. Citizens lack access to records related to itemized budget allocation, political financing, and asset disclosure forms of the heads of the state government and members of parliament.

International observers alleged that the November 2005 parliamentary elections were undemocratic, triggering street protests. Election integrity continues to be weak. Researchers noted incidents of denying voter IDs, the adding of fake ballots, excluding candidates, and using police forces in campaigns.