Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.20
By Elchin Mehtiyev - Trend:
Councilmen nominated by the "Yeni Azerbaijan" Party (NAP) will have five years of activities as well as the attitude of people and the voters towards them assessed, and it will be determined whose nominations will be put forward again, deputy executive secretary of the ruling party "Yeni Azerbaijan", MP Siyavush Novruzov told Trend Aug. 20.
He said that in July the party board decided on the municipal elections and then conducted a general meeting of the heads of city and regional organizations, including apparatus and set specific tasks before them.
"The party has a general program. The municipal elections, as well as the program of activities of individual district and municipal organizations are built in accordance with these programs", Novruzov said.
"In accordance with the new socio-political situation of the past five years, another issue is the nominating of women and younger people to be actively involved in the campaign for the presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections," Novruzov said. "A list of party activists to operate in central and local campaign headquarters will be compiled, and it will be submitted to the central headquarters."
Novruzov went on to say that trainings for candidates as well as for observers and members with an advisory vote are also provided and work in these areas continues.
He said that the campaign for elections to the municipalities will begin in October and the candidates, campaign staffs, activists will be fully prepared.
Talking about the preparation of the opposition parties in the elections, he said that there is a certain weakness in the opposition camp and this will make them unable to participate in the municipal elections and they are seeking justification for this.
"About 20,000 candidates are needed to be put forward in the municipal elections, and the opposition has no social base or electorate to nominate candidates. Therefore they often say that the status of municipal elections is allegedly low and they are not willing to take part in them. The main reason is that they do not have candidates to nominate in the field. So they are trying to direct their activities in other areas in order to stay on the agenda," said Novruzov.
Azerbaijani municipal elections are scheduled for December 2014.