Tahirov v. Azerbaijan, No. 31953/11, ECtHR (First Section), 11 June 2015

Arbitrary refusal by Azerbaijani authorities to register an independent candidate in the parliamentary elections.

Art. 3, Prot. 1 ECHR

1. The fact that the Electoral Code of Azerbaijan requires the collection of 450 signatures of support for the nomination of a candidate for parliamentary elections does not in itself constitute a limitation on the right to free elections, guaranteed by Article 3 of Prot. 1 of the ECHR. On the contrary, it pursues the legitimate objective of reducing the number of marginal candidates.

2. An applicant's right to stand for election is undermined when it is made subject to vague or opaque criteria, instead of being defined by clear and stable procedures, in order to ensure compliance with the conditions of eligibility.
(The applicant's candidature for the parliamentary elections was rejected because a team of experts from the Electoral Commission found irregularities among the 450 signatures of support that the applicant had collected).