Azerbaijan, Baku, 25 January / Trend corr. S.Ilhamgizi / Should any technical problems occur during the registration of the candidates for the presidential elections which is to take place in Azerbaijan in October, they must pay a deposit in the sum of AZN 33,000, Natig Mammadov, the Secretary of Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan, stated to Trend.
Under the Election Code, the sum of the deposit, which candidates must pay for the registration to the presidential elections, is AZN 33,000. Mammadov said that the deposit would be returned to the candidates if they collect 3% of the votes. However, the deposit would not be returned to the candidates if they collected less than 3% of the votes. The sum would be transferred to the State Budget.
Sabit Bagirov, the expert-economist, reported to Trend that the deposit sum was high taking into consideration the minimum and average sum of salaries. "It means that the most creditable people who have no funds will not be able to nominate their candidature," Bagirov noted. The minimum salary made up AZN 60 and average - AZN 250 or AZN300 in Azerbaijan.
Igbal Agazadeh, the Umid party chairman, who nominated his candidature for the presidential post, stated to Trend that he did not consider the deposit sum as high. "The cost of living of the population and the economic situation is low in Azerbaijan. However, I regard the presidential elections as a special campaign the candidate hold by assistance of the state budget and its supporters. Umid may pay the sum to its candidate," the chairman said.
Mammadov considers that AZN 33,000 is not a large sum as the candidate for presidential position must have strong a social base and a good team. There is a need for 45,000 signatures to register, which is a large number," he said.
Ellada Khankishieva, an economic expert at Trend, considers that the deposit sum is too large for Azerbaijan. "Taking into consideration the minimum salary of AZN 60, it is unlikely that supporters may provide financial assistance to their candidates On the contrary, most voters themselves need assistance from the candidates," Khankishiyeva added.
However, according to the expert, there is an exception too. Many rich people are prepared to pay the amount on behalf of the candidates who follow their own political interest.