Azerbaijan, Baku / Т corr I. Alizadeh / The governing New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) will not participate in the national forums of opposition parties to be held on 24 and 25 May, as it has not been invited, the Deputy Executive Secretary of NAP, MP Mubariz Gurbanly, said on 23 May. He noted that the situation could change in the case that NAP is invited.
The state of democracy in Azerbaijan will be discussed during the national forum initiated by the Open Society Party.
Gurbanly said that Azerbaijan does not have problems with democracy and the country is moving towards the introduction of democratic principles.
"The policy pursued by the Azerbaijani President is targeted towards democracy. Opposition parties can define by themselves the topics for discussion. The discussions do not and will not have any influence upon the public opinion, as the opposition lost its prestige among the population long ago," Gurbanly stressed.
The Union for Democracy uniting several opposition parties will hold the Karabakh forum on 24 May. A national forum dedicated to democracy and the forthcoming presidential elections will be held on 25 May organized by the Open Society Party.
NAP was founded in 1992 in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani ex-president Heydar Aliyev chaired the party for fourteen years. The current chairman is the President Ilham Aliyev.