By empty (4/22/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Official campaigning for the 25 May parliamentary election began on 21 April, RFE/RL\'s Yerevan bureau reported. The Central Election Commission has registered 1,084 candidates representing 17 parties and four blocs to contest the 75 mandates to be distributed under the proportional system. A further 406 candidates are competing for the remaining 56 single-mandate seats.

By empty (4/21/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliev, has collapsed twice during a ceremony broadcast live on state television, prompting new speculation about his health. Television showed Mr Aliev, 79, clutching his heart and swaying as he addressed cadets at a military academy in the capital Baku. A statement from the presidential press service later said he had merely lost his balance after suffering a drop in blood pressure and was now recovering well.

By empty (4/21/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

A number of Kazakh nongovernmental organizations oppose a draft law on such bodies that is being discussed by the government. Marat Aytmagambetov, head of the Network of Centers for Support of Civil Society, said in Almaty that the definitions of NGOs contained in the draft are vague and could be interpreted arbitrarily by the authorities. The definition of NGO in the draft includes noncommercial groups that are involved in public-service work and could be used to divide NGOs into those that suit the authorities and those that do not.