Azerbaijan, Baku, 9 July / Т corr S.Agayeva/ Azerbaijan's authorities believe presidential elections will be held quite transparently in the country.
"Unwillingness of several forces in Azerbaijan to join the election race results from understanding of their own weakness, as well as from striving to attract the attention of mass media and international organizations to themselves, that is the point," head of Political Analysis & Information Department at the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Elnur Aslanov said to Trend on 9 July.
Azerbaijan will hold presidential elections in October. Official date of elections will be divulged at the end of this month. The governing New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) will nominate country's current President Ilham Aliyev. Pro-governmental parties Ana Vatan and Social Prosperity Party intend to support Ilham Aliyev at the elections.
Musavat party has already nominated its Chairman Isa Gambar, Azerbaijan Democratic Party - Sardar Jalaloglu, the Greens Party nominated Mais Gulaliyev, the Popular Front Party of Unified Azerbaijan nominated Gudrat Hasanguliyev and Musair Musavat nominated Hafiz Hajiyev. The head of the public forum For Azerbaijan Eldar Namazov stands for presidency as an independent candidate.
Bloc Azadlig uniting three opposition parties (Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, Citizen and Development Party, Liberal Party) intends to boycott the elections.
According to Aslanov, as to refusal of several political parties from participation in the elections, several factors must be mentioned. "First, refusal is a personal matter and probably it is based on their subjective approach to the issue. Second, obviously, several political parties realize that in recent years they have failed to become an active part of the political process in Azerbaijan, have not formed an adequate social basis, have not presented an political and economic program to the public," he said. Aslanov said Azerbaijan and its society are intensively developing and political and economic preferences of the public are transforming.
" Azerbaijan became a country developing most efficiently in the post soviet space. According to IMF, GDP per head in Azerbaijan will be more than $12,000 by 2013 while it makes up $4,000 today and $880,000 in 2003. The average salary increased from AZN77 to 243AZN since 2003. Azerbaijan became 71st from the previous 90th for the level of GDP all over the world for the last five years. Azerbaijan is the leader among the economies which are liberalized with 80% private sector in GDP being a big indicator. These figures show that the economic policy realized by President Ilham Aliyev serves interests and welfare of the Azerbaijani people.
"Conditions have been provided for those involved in the political process to take part in the open, competitive and democratic elections and to pass Election Code which fully meets the standards of the developed democracies," Aslanov said.
"All these facts allow us to say that today quiet big number of oppositional and independent candidates are going to take part in the elections and refusal of some opposition candidates to take part in the election does not change anything," he said.
"As a whole, such approach of some persons toward the elections show that it is high time to update oppositional political space in Azerbaijan and this issue is of great significance in Azerbaijan at the moment," he said.
The correspondent can be contacted at - trend