Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend S.Ilhamgizi / Chairman of Vahdat Party, Tahir Kerimly, said on 7 May that opposition parties do not have strong presidential candidates in the elections that are able to compete with the government. "If the opposition cannot put forward a strong presidential candidate either together or separately, this is a negative indicator for the opposition," he said.
Kerimly believes that in the 2008 presidential elections, the opposition candidates will not achieve one third of the support that was received in previous presidential elections. Therefore, it seems that it is unlikely that the opposition may be a strong competitor for the government as a party or as a leader.