Azerbaijan, Baku, July 26 / Trend, I. Izzet /
According to a recent research project, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will be re-elected with popular support; the elections will also run smoothly, director of the Center for Strategic Studies under the Azerbaijani President Farhad Mammadov told Trend on Friday.
Mammadov said that the center has been conducting surveys for several years. Research on socio-economic indices has been held for the last 10 years. Results say that President Aliyev's political ratings are very high.
"It should be stressed that more than 3 million Azerbaijani citizens voted for Ilham Aliyev during the presidential elections in 2008," he added. "This stable electorate behind President Aliyev accounts for the vast majority of voters."
Moreover, Mammadov stressed that the Azerbaijani opposition can also take part in the elections, which are held in a democratic and competitive atmosphere. But the processes conducted in 2012 and 2013 show that there is no unity among the opposition.
"The parliamentary opposition is working in the same direction and it has its own candidates," he added. "Political groups outside the parliament have several candidates. This splits the small opposition electorate, causing problems for its unity around a single idea. Therefore, it is impossible for the opposition to reach any success in future elections, and even repeat the results of 2003 when tactics and opposition members are unchanged and the opposition is still in a state of internal discord given the fact that two months left before the elections."
He stressed that foreign experts in Azerbaijan working with the center, as well as foreign organizations that conducted the research predicted Ilham Aliyev's victory in the upcoming elections.
"While watching all these processes and in particular, taking into account the implemented projects and those which are under implementation in Azerbaijan, the will of President Aliyev, as well as projects implemented in Azerbaijan, ensure long-term development," he added. "Under these circumstances, it is clear why the Azerbaijani people support Ilham Aliyev."