Azerbaijan, Baku, 12 August / corr. Trend E.Babayev / The opposition Open Society Party (OSP) considers that the decision of majority of opposition parties to refuse participating in the presidential elections is not connected with the pre-election situation.
"I consider statements on non-democratic conditions of the pre-election campaign as lame excuses. Opposition's boycotting the elections was not though out beforehand, it did not reflect the defined tactics, whilst just the opposition was subjected to follow this way," Zamina Dunyamaliyeva, a member of the OSP and advisor of the party's leader, said to Trend on 12 August.
The presidential elections will be held in Azerbaijani on 15 October. The Azadlig bloc, uniting three opposition parties (the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, the Liberal Party and the Citizen and Development Party), and the Classical Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan decided to boycott the presidential elections. The opposition Musavat, the Civil Solidarity, the Democratic, the Great Establishment, the Open Soceity and the National Independence parties refused to participate in the elections with own candidates.
The presidential elections will be held in Azerbaijan on 15 October. So far, a total of 11 people appealed to the Central Elections Commission (CEC) for the participation in the presidnetial elections. The chairman of the governing New Azerbaijan Party and current President Ilham Aliyev, the chairman of the Greens Party Mais Gulaliyev, the chairman of the Azerbaijani Unified Popular Front Party Gudrat Hasanguliyev, the chairman of the Muasir Musavat party Hafiz Hajiyev, the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party Fuad Aliyev and the chairman of the Umid Party Igbal Agazade submitted their documents to the CEC. Moreover, the CEC confirmed the candidatures of Yashar Ahmadov (an unemployed person), Alimukhtar Akbarov (a pensioner), Sevinj Guliyeva (a junior nurse at the Sumgayit Central Clinic Hospital), Vugar Seyidov (a doctor) and Gudrat Isagov (a senior scientist of the Physics Institute of the Azerbaijani National Academy of Sciences).
Gulamhuseyn Alibayli, a former chairman of the Azerbaijani Poular Front Party's Supreme Assembly, nominated his candidature on 11 August and the CEC will make a decision on confirming his candiature soon.
According to Dunyamaliyeva, the traditional opposition party's mission is completed and in reality, th leaders of these parties had to leave the political arena after the presidential elections in 2003. "Time demands their leaving the ploitical arena," the functioner of the OSP said and stressed that resignations were expected at the parties, which would boycott the elections. "I approach it normally. If chairmen of the parties did not resign, it is their problem. These chairmen should not wait for that somebody will bid farewell to them. The opposition parties' chairmen should endure their failure. Renewal process of the opposition is not happening. New forces can appeaer at the political arena by the parliamentary elections of 2010." She considers that new forces can appear at the OSP, as well. "I, personally, do not think about it. I can say that the OSP's current activity equals to zero. We will state about our position, when the time comes,"Dunyamaliyeva said and refused to give aaditional comments on this topic.
Right-wing Open Society Party was founded in April 2007 in result of the split of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party. Party's leaders former MP Rasul Guliyev, is an emigrant to the United States. Protesting against ADP, Guliyev and his supporters separated from the party and established their own Open Society Party.
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