Azerbaijan, Baku, 22 April / Trend corr. S.Ilhamgizi / Fazail Gazanfaroglu, the Chairman of the Great Establishment party, supports reducing the term for the election campaign.
"Reducing the term of the election campaign is profitable mainly for the opposition rather than the Authorities," Gazanfaroglu stated Trend .
The ruling New Azerbaijan party (NAP) is proposing to introduce amendments in the Election Code and reduce the term of the election campaign from 4 months to two months. The opposition parties excluding Great Establishment do not support this.
Gazanfaroglu believes that electronic possibilities have increased in the modern world and it has become easier to communicate with the public. Candidates have to utilise their funds for every pre-election day. "I believe that reducing the term for the pre-election campaign will reduce the money spent by candidates. The Authorities have no financial problems, but the opposition has limited funds.
Gazanfaroglu believes that every party has a five-year term to gain power. "If candidates cannot gain support of the population by then, he cannot do it within two or four months," he stated.
However, DPA party is concerned with the proposal concerning the reduction of the term of the election campaigns. It considers that the authorities are attempting to limit the opportunities of the opposition by decreasing the election campaign term. "We ask the authorities not to take this step,' Hasrat Rustamov, DPA Deputy Chairman stated.
The Azadlig bloc, which unites three opposition parties, believes that NAP's proposal is an attempt to limit the possibilities of the opposition parties," Ali Aliyev, Azadlig bloc co-chairman, stated Trend .
The ruling party in its turn denies these statements. "Reducing the term of the election campaign is directed to upgrade the election process," MP Bahar Muradova, Deputy Executive Secretary of NAP, stated.
According to Muradova, NAP's initiative is based on the election experience of Azerbaijan and other countries.
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