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Azerbaijani Azadlig Bloc to Support No Presidential Candidate from Opposition

Politics Materials 18 January 2008 17:27 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, 18 January/ corr. Trend S. Ilhamgizi/ In case the Azadlig bloc does not take part in the elections, it will support none of the candidates from the opposition, Lala Shovket, the co-chairman of the bloc said to Trend. "If we boycott the elections, it means that we do not consider elections to be democratic and fair. Therefore, we may not support any candidate," Shovket said.

In Oct 2008, the regular presidential elections will be held in Azerbaijan. The Azadlag bloc, including the three oppositional parties, announced that it will boycott the elections in case the democratic conditions are not provided.

The parties Musavat, Umid (Hope) and Great Establishment have announced that they will take part in the elections with their own candidates.

The Azadlig bloc wants the election process and the election commissions to be set free from the influence of the authorities, as well as the establishment of the freedom of assembly of the citizens stated in the Constitution. Otherwise, none of the candidates taking part in the elections will have a chance to win, Shovket added.

"Opposition should seriously approach their participation in the presidential elections, as this process is very important for the fate of Azerbaijan. We are responsible before the nation, for all the decisions we make," Shovket said.

The boycott of the presidential elections by the bloc will be a loss for the candidates and they will not be able to gain 50+1 votes of the voters, Hasan Kerimov, the deputy chairman of the Popular Front Party of (APFP) Azerbaijan of the Azadlig bloc said to Trend. According to Kerimov, APFP has 47,000 members.

The Citizens and Development Party has 4,000 members, and the Liberal Party more than 40,000.

The boycott of the elections by the Azadlig bloc will not be a great loss for the organization, oppositional Musavat party stated. "Because in the elections we will try to gain the votes of dissatisfied voters of the country, not the political parties," Arif Hajili, the head of the Central Executive Body of Musavat said to Trend.

According to the official data of CEC of Azerbaijan, the number of the Azerbaijani voters amounts to 4.600.000 people. The general number of Azadlig bloc members totals 91,000 people, which is the 2% of the general number of the voters in the country.

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