Azerbaijan, Baku, 8 September/ Trend , corr I. Alizade/ New left wing opposition Left Democratic Party is going to be set up in Azerbaijan. "Measures are being taken to set up an Organizational Committee and we intend to give a go ahead to processes on establishing new party after presidential elections," Elshan Manafov, former secretary of Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan (SDPA) said to Trend .
SDPA is a lefty wing opposition party. The co-chairman of the party is Araz Alizade and the other co-chairman is Ayaz Mutallibov, former president who lives in immigration at present. Ayaz Mutallibov was elected first president in 1991 when Azerbaijan gained independence. Later an action was brought against him. He has been living in immigration in Russia since 1992.
SDPA held the meeting of the Central Committee on 6 September. The problems of the party were discussed during the meeting. Manafov, close friends with Mutallibov, who accused Alizade of not being able to run the party, was dismissed.
Manafov believes there is a serious need to set up left a center-left party in Azerbaijan. "The struggle among our parties does not entail any ideological values and this process is accelerated by every day. The establishment of center-left party is a need necessitated by political realities," Manafov said.
He said the other co-chairman of SDPA Mutallibov will withdraw from the party soon. "There are no any supporters of Ayaz Mutallibov left in SDPA Central Committee. The disagreements and different positions regarding presidential elections indicate that Araz Alizade does not need Ayaz Mutallibov any more despite Alizade himself joined Mutallibov five years ago".
According to Manafov, he had telephone conservation with Mutallibov on 18 August. "Mutallibov said Araz Alizade is not what he was before and he has changed. He did not divulge who has changed him. Araz Alizade will bring this issue into the discussion of the meeting. He also phoned Araz Mutallibov. The latter said: "What I told Manafov is my personal affair". It indicates that the disagreements among co-chairmen will lead to split without even without Elshan Manafov.
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