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Azeri ruling party official says pre-election situation "perfectly normal"
ANS TV, Baku
11 Aug 05
The pre-election situation in Azerbaijan is causing great concerns,
because despite the pressure exerted on the Azerbaijani authorities on
the part of the West and international organizations, neither the
composition of electoral commissions has been changed, nor conditions
have been established for public organizations to observe the
election, the co-founder of the Yeni Siyasat (New Policy) election
bloc, Eldar Namazov, has said.
Namazov was invited to the Azerbaijani commercial ANS TV's "Point of
View" programme on 11 August together with the deputy executive
secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, Mubariz Qurbanli.
Namazov said the failure to meet these demands had undermined public
confidence in the fairness of this election. He said that since the
process of registration of candidates had already started, his bloc
had nominated about 90 people to stand in the election. However, the
fact that many citizens have not received their ID cards is creating
problems in the process of collection of signatures. According to the
official statistics, more than 1m voters have yet to receive their ID
cards, he said.
Another problem candidates have been facing is the requirement to
produce too many documents. Members of the bloc have had to produce 48
different documents, Namazov said. In addition to that, all candidates
nominated from one bloc have to have their documents confirmed by a
single stamp, which means that the candidates nominated in regions of
Azerbaijan have to come all the way to Baku or send their documents by
mail. The biggest problem, however, is the ever exacerbating tension
in society, Namazov noted.
Mubariz Qurbanli said that his opponent had painted a grim picture of
the situation. He described the pre-election situation as "perfectly
normal" and said it was totally under control. Qurbanli said
sufficient changes had been introduced to the electoral code on the
basis of recommendations from international organizations. He noted
that the current election law can provide for a completely free and
fair election.
With regard to the difficulties Namazov referred to with the issuing
of ID cards to the population, Qurbanli said the Yeni Siyasat election
bloc had not organized its work properly. He explained that candidates
nominated in rural parts of Azerbaijan do not have to come to Baku but
can work through their proxies.
Qurbanli dismissed claims that polarization in society was deepening,
adding that the majority of citizens were rallying behind the
incumbent authorities. He said the forces who are already aware of
their impending defeat in the election portray themselves as a
fully-fledged player on the political firmament.
The ruling party executive went on to say that it was normal for
different groups of people, not necessarily those involved in
politics, to be outraged by the fact that the member of a group
supported by People's Front of Azerbaijan Party (Yeni Fikir youth
movement), Ruslan Basirli, accepted money from Armenian secret agents
in order to overthrow government in Azerbaijan. He added that even
though a recent protest action outside the party had not been
authorized, members of the party should have let the police disperse
the protesters. Instead, some of them had climbed to the roof of the
building to throw stones at the pickets.
Picking up the topic, Eldar Namazov said he had condemned Ruslan
Basirli's action in the press. However, he said opposition parties in
Azerbaijan have been deprived of any funding opportunities. In
democratic countries, he said, parties are supported by certain
businessmen. The businessmen helping opposition parties in Azerbaijan
have repeatedly come under pressure which eventually forced them to
close their enterprises.
Namazov said that in Russia, for instance, the parties running for
parliament receive money from the state budget proportionately to the
number of votes cast for them in a previous election. There is no such
thing in Azerbaijan, he said.
ANS TV, Baku
11 Aug 05
The pre-election situation in Azerbaijan is causing great concerns,
because despite the pressure exerted on the Azerbaijani authorities on
the part of the West and international organizations, neither the
composition of electoral commissions has been changed, nor conditions
have been established for public organizations to observe the
election, the co-founder of the Yeni Siyasat (New Policy) election
bloc, Eldar Namazov, has said.
Namazov was invited to the Azerbaijani commercial ANS TV's "Point of
View" programme on 11 August together with the deputy executive
secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, Mubariz Qurbanli.
Namazov said the failure to meet these demands had undermined public
confidence in the fairness of this election. He said that since the
process of registration of candidates had already started, his bloc
had nominated about 90 people to stand in the election. However, the
fact that many citizens have not received their ID cards is creating
problems in the process of collection of signatures. According to the
official statistics, more than 1m voters have yet to receive their ID
cards, he said.
Another problem candidates have been facing is the requirement to
produce too many documents. Members of the bloc have had to produce 48
different documents, Namazov said. In addition to that, all candidates
nominated from one bloc have to have their documents confirmed by a
single stamp, which means that the candidates nominated in regions of
Azerbaijan have to come all the way to Baku or send their documents by
mail. The biggest problem, however, is the ever exacerbating tension
in society, Namazov noted.
Mubariz Qurbanli said that his opponent had painted a grim picture of
the situation. He described the pre-election situation as "perfectly
normal" and said it was totally under control. Qurbanli said
sufficient changes had been introduced to the electoral code on the
basis of recommendations from international organizations. He noted
that the current election law can provide for a completely free and
fair election.
With regard to the difficulties Namazov referred to with the issuing
of ID cards to the population, Qurbanli said the Yeni Siyasat election
bloc had not organized its work properly. He explained that candidates
nominated in rural parts of Azerbaijan do not have to come to Baku but
can work through their proxies.
Qurbanli dismissed claims that polarization in society was deepening,
adding that the majority of citizens were rallying behind the
incumbent authorities. He said the forces who are already aware of
their impending defeat in the election portray themselves as a
fully-fledged player on the political firmament.
The ruling party executive went on to say that it was normal for
different groups of people, not necessarily those involved in
politics, to be outraged by the fact that the member of a group
supported by People's Front of Azerbaijan Party (Yeni Fikir youth
movement), Ruslan Basirli, accepted money from Armenian secret agents
in order to overthrow government in Azerbaijan. He added that even
though a recent protest action outside the party had not been
authorized, members of the party should have let the police disperse
the protesters. Instead, some of them had climbed to the roof of the
building to throw stones at the pickets.
Picking up the topic, Eldar Namazov said he had condemned Ruslan
Basirli's action in the press. However, he said opposition parties in
Azerbaijan have been deprived of any funding opportunities. In
democratic countries, he said, parties are supported by certain
businessmen. The businessmen helping opposition parties in Azerbaijan
have repeatedly come under pressure which eventually forced them to
close their enterprises.
Namazov said that in Russia, for instance, the parties running for
parliament receive money from the state budget proportionately to the
number of votes cast for them in a previous election. There is no such
thing in Azerbaijan, he said.