Azerbaijan, Baku, 28 January / corr. Trend E. Huseynli/ The Advisory Assembly uniting pro-governmental parties of Azerbaijan has intensified its political activities in connection with the presidential elections. "An election headquarters will be established to hold appropriate election campaign in the presidential election," Mammad Alizadeh, the chairman of the Assembly and the Peace Party of Democratic Azerbaijan said to Trend on 28 January.
The presidential elections will be held in Azerbaijan in October 2008. The large majority of the pro-governmental parties have announced that they will support the current president Ilham Aliyev. Bloc Azadlig, uniting three opposition parties, Popular Front Party, Liberal Party, the Party of Citizens and Development, said that if the composition of the election commissions is not changed, it will boycott the elections.
According to Alizadeh, the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party may not take part in the election campaign of the Advisory Assembly. However, the member parties of the Council will take part in the elections separately, with their own candidates. The Council will temporarily end its cooperation with the parties nominating their own candidates, Alizadeh said.
The pro-government Advisory Assembly includes nine parties, Alliance for Azerbaijan, National Statehood, Independent Republicans, the Peace of democratic Azerbaijan, Ana Veten and the Party of Social Welfare.