Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 14
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva - Trend:
One may try to argue with what can be seen by the naked eyes, and deny the things that are so obvious, but it is very hard to oppose statistical data.
The West, which has so many times talked about some mythical "oppressions" and "restrictions" on freedom in Azerbaijan by the government, will have to accept the conclusion made by the influential US firm, Arthur J. Finkelstein & Associates, which conducted a poll in the country.
Arthur J. Finkelstein & Associates is an influential firm operating in the US. It renders services for holding exit polls, surveys and analyses.
Its representatives have taken part in various political campaigns in the US, Canada, Israel and Eastern Europe, conducted polls and developed strategies.
Suffice it to name this firm's customers - Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Congressman Connie Mack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the former Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, many US congressmen, senators, former US presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, and many other famous and influential politicians.
If the West suddenly decides to doubt the results of the last poll on Azerbaijan, the entire world is fully entitled to doubt the entire system of the US government, Israel and half of the European countries, as Western politicians often entrusted their political career to Arthur J. Finkelstein & Associates.
By conducting a survey of respondents in Azerbaijan, this influential agency revealed something that ordinary inhabitants of Azerbaijan are striving to convey to the West. They are trying to shout down several opposition leaders who left the country and have slandered modern Azerbaijan.
According to the report, nearly 80 percent of Azerbaijanis, who will vote in parliamentary election next month, think that the nation under the current government is moving in the right direction and that the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains a major problem.
While answering such a question as, "In general, how would you assess the activity of incumbent Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev?" some 82.1 percent assessed the activity of President Aliyev, who was re-elected in late 2013, as either good or excellent.
Some 81.7 percent of respondents agreed that "Azerbaijan is an island of stability in a region where most countries are unstable" and that the current government has done everything to prevent an immigration crisis in Azerbaijan.
Finally, some 74.4 percent of voters are going to vote for the candidates of the ruling party of Azerbaijan. These figures are rather eloquent.
It seems that this poll finally has to dot all the 'i's and cross all the 't's and stop speculation of the West on the topic of observers coming to the election, transparency and legitimacy of the electoral process. However, the policy of double standards, alas, sometimes makes it possible to turn a blind eye to the truth and statistics for the sake of personal preferences in difficult geopolitical games around independent states.
Edited by CN
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Elmira Tariverdiyeva is the head of Trend Agency's Russian News Service, follow her on Twitter @EmmaTariver
