Azerbaijan, Baku, 15 January / Тrend corr G. Jabiyev / The Azerbaijani opposition has very weak opportunities to win the presidential elections.
"In case no force-majeure take place, they will not be able to rival the authorities," Rasim Musabeyov, an independent political scientist said to Trend on 15 January.
The presidential elections will take place in Azerbaijan on 15 October.
The bloc Azadliq including the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, the Liberal Party and the Citizens and Development Party declared it would not take part in the elections until the election committees are reformed. Other opposition parties will participate in the elections. The governing New Azerbaijan Party will nominate the current President Ilham Aliyev.
According to Musabeyov, the authorities are much stronger than the opposition in terms of finance, media and other resources. The opposition has little opportunity to gain the support of society.
"Naturally, the loss at previous elections contributed to weakening the opposition," Musabeyov said.
The authorities are expected to take populist measures, including an increase in wages and pensions, in the year of the elections. That will help to gain the trust of the non-politicized population, he said.