The old and new list of the “Yeni Azerbaijan” party (YAP), those who will take part in the elections and those who will take part ...

On July 17, at the next meeting of the Board of the Yeni Azerbaijan Party, in connection with the upcoming early parliamentary elections on September 1, a list of candidates for all 125 districts was determined.

Veterans of the party, such as Ali Ahmedov, Mubariz Gurbanli, Khanlar Fatiev, Sayyad Aran, Eyvaz Gurbanov, who were previously elected deputies from the  YAP, but were not candidates in the last elections of 2020, were nominated again.

The ruling party did not nominate former chairman of the Nakhchivan Supreme Mejlis Vasif Talibov, former chairman of the Milli Mejlis, deputy of the II, III, IV, V convocations Ogtay Asadov, Chairman of the Confederation of Trade Unions Sattar Mehbaliyev, President of ANAS Isa Gabibbeyli, former rector of the Institute of Teachers of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Milli Mejlis on Family, Women and Children issues for early parliamentary elections Deputy of the IV, V and VI convocations Agia Nakhchivanly, chairman of the Nizami district organization Sadagat Veliyeva.  The name of the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Azerbaijan" Bakhtiyar Sadigov, who received a mandate from the Agdam constituency No. 119 in the II, III, IV, V convocations, is not on the list.

The children of former deputies have been nominated. Thus, Samir Ahmed oglu Veliyev, nominated from Narimanov second electoral district No. 20, is the son of former deputy Ahmed Veliyev, and Mahir Tahir oglu Suleymanli, nominated from Shabran-Khachmaz electoral district No. 56, is the son of former deputy from Siyazyan Tahir Suleymanov.  Aygun Shaitdin Giziyeva, nominated from the Khazar first electoral district No. 12, is the daughter of former deputy, long-term member of the Central Election Commission, Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission Shaitdin Aliyev.

In short, in the list of 125 candidates from the ruling party, 66 were declared candidates for deputies for the first time.  The list contains notable names. Among the candidates are a professor, a scientist, a school principal, a school teacher, the chairman of the youth center, a singer, a dentist and representatives of other professions.

The PFPA, the National Council, and the III Republican Platform announced that they would not participate in the elections. Although the “Musavat” party has decided to participate in the elections, its president Isa Gambar and Chairman of the Mejlis Arif Hajili will not run. Chairman of the Civil Solidarity Party (SCP) Sabir Rustamkhanli, Chairman of the “Umid” party Igbal Aghazade, Chairman of the “Justice” Party Ilyas Ismailov, Chairman of the Supreme Mejlis Meydan Babayev and another deputy Chairman Elhan Shukurlu said they would not run.

Political commentator Arastun Orujlu answers questions from ASTNA regarding the upcoming elections.

* * *

Question: How would you rate the list of YAP? Candidates from all 125 districts have been nominated. 66 of them are running for deputies from the PEA for the first time. Among the candidates are a professor, a scientist, a school principal, a school teacher, the chairman of the youth center, a singer, a dentist and representatives of other professions.  Most of them are unknown to society.  What are their chances?

Answer: First of all, I would like to note that from the point of view of forecasting, the formation of parliament is not only the most uninteresting, but also the most useless topic in Azerbaijan.  This also applies to the evaluation of the list of candidates from the ruling party. Also because, in addition to the lack of conditions for elections, as well as the electoral process itself, the structure itself, called parliament, exists only nominally. Previously, this was the case from a practical point of view, but now it is also the case from a legal point of view, and the Milli Majlis can be considered only a nominal structure.  As for the list of the ruling party, there is nothing new here either.  Naturally, some of the names have formally changed, but in reality there are no innovations in sight. In the past, parliamentary mandates were issued to people holding high positions in the executive branch, and today this procedure continues on the same principle. There is one more point. Deputies of persons who have fallen into "disgrace" over the past five years are deprived of their mandates and others are elected in their places. As for their fields of activity, in my opinion, there is not much difference here either. The main thing is that the elected person is ready to follow the rule - "They gave you a mandate – do what they say."

As for assessing the chances, in my opinion, only officials of the Presidential Administration and the Central Election Commission can give the most accurate forecast for the formation of the parliament today. And with 100% accuracy. No one has a chance to compete with them in this matter, including me.

Question: The ruling party did not nominate former Chairman of the Nakhchivan Supreme Majlis Vasif Talibov, former chairman of the Milli Majlis Ogtay Asadov, Chairman of the Confederation of Trade Unions Sattar Mehbaliyev, President of ANAS Isa Gabibbeyli, former rector of the Azerbaijan Institute of Teachers, Chairman of the Milli Majlis Committee on Family, Women and Children Agia Nakhchivan, Chairman of the Nizami district organizations Sadagat Veliyeva and deputy from district No. 78 Igbal Mammadov.  At the same time, the name of the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Azerbaijan" Bakhtiyar Sadigov, who received a mandate from the Agdam constituency No. 119 in the II, III, IV, V convocations, is not on the list.  What is the reason?

Answer: All the persons listed by you, as already mentioned, either fell out of favor themselves, or their patrons fell out of favor, so there is no need to re-mandate them.  The distribution of mandates is between relevant individuals and their people.  For example, if Ramiz Mehdiyev is no longer relevant, it means that there is no need to give a mandate to Isa Habibbeyli. The same goes for the others. Now the mandates are distributed among those people and groups whose loyalty the government needs. 

As for the individual qualities of the mandate holder, he should be as obedient as possible, should not take any initiative on any topic. Moreover, this applies not only to the deputies of the YAP, but in general to everyone who receives a mandate. It looks like the rules will be tightened even more this time.  The principle of "got your mandate – do what they say" is replaced by the principle of "got your mandate – keep quiet." In the context of the current socio-political situation in the country, this was expected in principle. In conditions of increasing external challenges and threats, deterioration of the socio-economic situation, and increased risks, it cannot be otherwise.

Question: The list again includes such veterans of the party who were previously elected deputies from the YAP, but were not candidates in the last elections of 2019. These are Ali Ahmedov, Mubariz Gurbanli, Khanlar Fatiyev, Sayad Aran, Eyvaz Gurbanov. Can veterans get mandates again?

Answer: This is obvious, otherwise there would be no need to include them in the list. It seems that in the current socio-political and socio-economic conditions, there is a growing demand for those who have experience in following the rules. By the way, the list also contains the names of several former heads of executive authorities. It is possible that this approach is also used to ensure maximum loyalty. But, to tell the truth, two more possibilities are not excluded: firstly, parliamentary mandates are distributed within the framework of some conditions unknown to us, and secondly, mandates should be given to persons who do not have authority in society, among people. Because even one person who is able to gain the trust of society, who has authority among people, is perceived as a potential source of threat to political power. If the latter assumption is correct, then we can say that the situation is not at all pleasant. I don't rule that out either.

Question: The children of former deputies have also been nominated. Thus, Samir Ahmed oglu Veliyev, nominated from Narimanov second electoral district No. 20, is the son of former deputy Ahmed Veliyev, and Mahir Tahir oglu Suleymanli, nominated from Shabran –Khachmaz electoral district No. 56, is the son of former deputy Siyazyan Tahir Suleymanov.  Aygun Shaitdin Giziyeva, nominated from the Khazar first electoral district No. 12, is the daughter of former deputy, long-term member of the Central Election Commission, Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission Shaitdin Aliyev. What does this mean?

Answer: The transfer of power to a limited circle of people, from generation to generation, takes place not only at the parliamentary level. In law enforcement agencies, courts, and other government agencies, the same picture. This is the model of the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who became the last monarch of Iran, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Syrian dictator Hafez Assad, the North Korean dictatorship, the Central Asian states and, finally, today's Russia. Azerbaijan is governed by the same model. That is, the wings of power are formed either through democratic elections or by rotation from generation to generation within a family, tribe, or clan.  When looking at Azerbaijan's current allies, everything becomes clear. However, if we look at it from a broader angle, we can say that this is one of the signs of a sharp polarization in the world. The model of the opposing poles, which is defeated in this struggle, will fail.

Question: The PFPA, the National Council, the III Republican Platform announced that they would not participate in the elections. How correct is this decision?

Answer: These are their own decisions, and, apparently, there is also a certain logical justification for this. I think that participation in any election is important because it at least means an opportunity to change the atmosphere in society. If there are no conditions for elections, it is in the interests of the opposition to create them. Others definitely won't do it. Even in such elections, refusing to participate does not do anything, and the bitter experience of this has existed for many years. As a result of all this, Azerbaijani society is deprived of the opportunity to see any alternatives. It also means that people no longer place any expectations on the opposition. In any case, this is my assessment, and each party, movement, platform makes its own decision.

Question: Although the “Musavat” Party has decided to participate in the elections, its President Isa Gambar and Chairman of the Mejlis Arif Hajili will not run. Chairman of the Civil Solidarity Party (CSP) Sabir Rustamkhanli, Chairman of the “Umid” party Igbal Aghazade, Chairman of the “Justice” Party Ilyas Ismailov, Chairman of the Supreme Mejlis Meydan Babayev and another deputy Chairman Elkhan Shukurlu said they would not run. What does this mean?

Answer: I have already spoken about the current socio-political reality.  No one with more or less significant influence on society or public opinion should be in Parliament. It seems that this message has been delivered to all the right recipients.