Extraordinary Elections to Simplify Falsification - Opposition Leaders

Baku / 05.02.18 / Turan: Appointment of early presidential elections is an attempt to keep power, Jamil Hasanli, chairman of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) said.

According to him, there was no need to hold extraordinary elections.

"Three weeks ago, there was an official statement that the next presidential election will be held on October 17. The appointment of an early election testifies to some secret intentions of the authorities.

In any case, the deterioration of the socio-economic situation in the country contributes to a steady decline in the authority of the power, and against this background there is a desire to hold formal elections with the help of the controlled CEC and to retain power in the hands of the family for another seven years," Hasanli said, commenting on Ilham Aliyev"s decision for Turan.

According to him, the NCDF will discuss the situation and decide on participation or non-participation in elections.

In turn, former Musavat leader and presidential candidate Isa Gambar believes that the ruling regime understands that if the elections are held in October, by that time the socio-economic and political discontent of the population will be much higher than now. "In this case, it will be much harder to falsify elections and retain power by violent methods," he said in a commentary for Turan.

The deepening of the crisis and the inability of the authorities to find ways to overcome it, the growing discontent of the population and the deterioration of the position of the Putin regime in Russia under the pressure of the West also contribute to the deterioration of the situation of the authorities of Azerbaijan, he said.

"Therefore, they are in a hurry to hastily rig the presidential elections and prolong their power. Naturally, the democratic forces of Azerbaijan, leading political organizations, as a whole, Azerbaijani society should give a principled response to this," Gambar said.

Will he take part in the presidential election? Answering this question, Gambar said: "My candidacy for presidency was put forward at the 8th Congress of the Musavat party in September 2014. This decision remains in force." However, according to the current situation, discussions will be held, he added. -03B06-