Azerbaijan, Baku, 25 April / Trend corr. G.Jabiyev / There are people who believe that Etibar Mammadov, leader of the Azerbaijani National Independent Party (ANIP) cannot solve problems within the party. "I do not think that the problems within ANIP will be tackled even if Mammadov returns to his position of chairman in the party. Political activity could be observed, but no drastic changes will take place," Rauf Mirgadirov, a member of ANIP stated Trend .
ANIP was the first party to receive registration in Azerbaijan in 1992. Etibar Mammadov was the founder and chairman of the party until the end of 2004 when he resigned from that position which led to a split within the party. Some members left the party due to conflicts occurred within the party. Soon after Ali Aliyev replaced Mammadov in the position as chairman.
Ayaz Rustamov, the latest ANIP Chairman, resigned from his position at the end of 2007. The party will hold an urgent meeting in order to elect a new chairman. Three candidates have stood in the chairmanship position of the party - Alladin Askarov, Chairman of Narimanov District organization of the party, Fagan Maharramli, Chairman of Goranboy region organization of the party, and Ali Orujov, ANIP Secretary on Press and Popularization.
According to Mirgadirov, there are two problems relating to the ANIP chairman position. The first problem is that ANIP is a party which was founded around the leader. "Mammadov was a unanimous chairman of the party. He was one of the leading activists of 1990s and his resignation from the chairman position could only lead to problems," Mirgadirov added. The other reason is a common situation in the country. No conditions have been created for the parties' activity.
Presently, Mammadov is the deputy chairman of the International Democratic Alliance.
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