Azerbaijan, Baku, March 29 / Trend A.Huseynbala /
Order and discipline should be established in the political party system, ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) Deputy Chairman and Executive Secretary Ali Ahmedov told journalists today.
"Azerbaijan does not need parties that passed registration, but are not engaged in political activity," he said.
The Azerbaijani Justice Ministry has registered 53 parties. Azerbaijan adopted a law on political parties in 1992.
This "abundance" of parties clutters the system, the NAP official said, adding that the process should be regulated.
"We believe several political parties and political organizations may form around these parties in Azerbaijan," Ahmedov said. "They will accurately reflect the political spectrum, and also be able to present themselves as genuinely existing political structures. This is the NAP's position."
In terms of any parties joining the NAP, he said the NAP is not concerned overly with the issue.
"Who thinks about this and based on what the goals such ideas are put forward? All of this should be discussed seriously. At the same time, we all know that the NAP is strong enough. We would not make any discourteous statements regarding other parties. But the reality is that the NAP does not need a union with any other political structure to carry out its duties," Ahmedov said.
However, he added that the NAP values the support of several parties close to the organization.
Recently, head of the pro-governmental Ana Vatan party, MP Zahid Oruj, voiced an initiative to join the NAP, together with other state-friendly parties.
"We believe these parties also have their electorate, and while representing the views of their electorate, they are supporting the Azerbaijani president and his policies. This is one of the realities of Azerbaijan," he added. According to the MP, there are only five or six strong parties in Azerbaijan and it would be rational for pro-government parties to huddle around the NAP.
There is no need to amend the law on political parties, Ahmedov said, until the next parliamentary elections.
"There is not so much time left and it would be an incorrect decision on the eve of the elections to push a new law somehow affecting the configuration of political parties," he added.
The NAP was established by Nakhchivan Supreme Majlis Chairman Heydar Aliyev in 1992. President Ilham Aliyev is the chairman today. The party has ruled for 17 years.