Are there MPs elected by the people in Azerbaijan?

Baku/26.01.23/Turan: The answer of the MP from the REAL party Erkin Gadirli to the question of blogger Mehman Huseynov caused a noticeable response. The blogger asked the MP Erkin Gadirli: “Name me at least one MP who would really be elected by the people and is in the Milli Majlis.” The answer of the MP Erkin Gadirli was: “I can’t say this about myself.  If there were democratic elections, one could say with certainty ... "

After that, many deputies, including members of the ruling “Yeni Azerbaijan” Party, began to comment on Gadirli's words in the media one after another. They argue that the elections in Azerbaijan are held democratically, demand that Erkin Gadirli renounce his mandate and even consider this issue by the Disciplinary Commission of the Milli Majlis.

Bashir Suleymanli, the head of the Civil Rights Institute, commented on Erkin Gadirli’s statement and the reaction to it in the “Difficult Question” program.

The opinion of both the local public and international organizations directly involved in the elections is unambiguous regarding how elections are held in Azerbaijan, he said.

“If you ask any resident of Azerbaijan, how are elections held in our country? - then, of course, he will say that they are falsified. People who deal with this topic at a professional level will speak differently. They will say that elections in Azerbaijan are undemocratic,” Suleymanli said. In his opinion, Erkin Gadirli did not say anything new.

“In essence, there is nothing unusual in Erkin Gadirli's statement. I was even somewhat surprised to learn that he spoke about what is known to everyone and what has been said more than once. And the response was caused not by what he said, but by the fact that he did it, being a deputy of the Milli Majlis,” the human rights activist noted.

Suleymanli also noted that there were immediately deputies who hurried to make statements. “They claim that elections in Azerbaijan are held democratically, they demand that the issue of Erkin Gadirli's behavior be considered in the Disciplinary Commission of the Milli Majlis. It's no secret that these speeches are opportunistic in nature and are made to demonstrate their loyalty to the authorities," he stressed.

In his opinion, the holding  democratic elections provides for the presence of many components. This requires, first, the presence in the country of an atmosphere of political competition, justice, a normal environment for political parties and civil society, the existence of independent media, etc. All this is not. Not only Erkin Gadirli speaks about this, but sometimes representatives of the authorities themselves indirectly admit it,” Suleymanli noted.