Azerbaijan, Baku, 6 August / Trend E.Babayev / The Azerbaijani opposition Civil Unity Party (CUP) will not participate in the presidential elections with own candidate. "Although we have not made a final decision on the elections, it is specified that we will not participate in the elections with own candidate," Sabir Hajiyev, the chairman of the CUP, told Trend on 6 August.
The presidential elections will be held in Azerbaijan on 15 October. In July, three opposition parties, including the Popular Front, the Liberal and the Civil Development, which is united in the Azadlig bloc, and the Classic Popular Front party decided to boycott the presidential elections. The Musavat, the Civil Solidarity, the Democratic and the Great Establishment parties refused to participate in the elections with own candidates. So far, a total of 11 people appealed to the Central Elections Commission (CEC) for the participation in the presidnetial elections. The current President Ilham Aliyev, the chairman of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, Mais Gulaliyev, the chairman of the Greens Party, Gudrat Hasanguliyev, the chairman of the Azerbaijani Unified Popular Front Party, Hafiz Hajiyev, the chairman of the Muasir Musavat party, Fuad Aliyev, the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party, and Igbal Agazade, the chairman of the Umid Party, submitted their documents to the CEC. Moreover, Yashar Ahmedov (the unemployed), Alimukhtar Aberov (a pensioner), Sevinj Guliyeva (a junior nurse of the Sumgayit Central Clinic Hospital), Vugar Seyidov ( a doctor), Gudrat Isagov (senior scientist of the Physics Institute the Azerbaijani National Academy of Sciences) submitted their documents to the CEC, as well.
Hajiyev said that the CUP refused from radical opposition position a while ago. The reason of this action is that the authorities' policy corresponds with the State and nation's interests, he said. "Despite this, I cannot say that we will support the power's candidate. The party's congress or meeting of the Central Council will be held with regards to the elections soon. If I say whom we will support, it can be assessed as a tension on the party's members," he said.
The CUP was established in 1999 under the leadership of Ayaz Mutallibov, the Azerbaijani ex-president, who has been living in Moscow since 1992. Differences aroused after the parliamentary elections held in 2000 at the party and the organization was divided into two parts, including supporters of Igbal Agazade, the chairman of the Umid Party, and Mutallibov. Agazade's supporters refused from the CUP in 2003. Mutallibov took a decision to unite the CUP to the Azerbaijani Social Democratic Party. However, Hajiyev, the chairman of the party, did not agree with this decision and the CUP continues its activity under Hajiyev's leadership. The CUP joined the parliamentary elections held in 2005 as opposition and at present represents the opposition at the elections commissions.
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