Gasanly warned international observers of upcoming fraud

The single candidate from the National Council, Jamil Gasanly and leaders of political parties, members of this opposition union met on October 8 on the issues of the international observer mission with the participation of representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , the OSCE and the EU.

The meeting focused on the situation and the upcoming election on October 9 by popular vote in the presidential elections in Azerbaijan.

According to the source, who took part in the meeting, members of the mission were interested in the pre-election atmosphere , the presence of a level playing field for the candidates, the platform of Gasanly, the terms of meetings with voters, the public mood , the state of the media , and the oil factor in the economy.

In the responses Gasanly used theses, arguments and facts, which he voiced in the debate on television, in meetings with voters and the media.

Gasanly said that he considered illegitimate, the part of Ilham Aliyev in the elections for several reasons: he does not have the right to be elected for a third term, for the amendment of the right to unlimited election was adopted by a falsified referendum in 2009. When he was elected in 2008, the president's powers were limited to two terms. Thus, the changes in 2009 do not apply to him, as the law is not retroactive, said Gasanly.

The second ground of his non-legitimate character was his failure to provide a declaration on his own income as well as his wife.

The third reason is the corruption of the president.

As for the campaign, it was held at a disadvantage, including the abuse of administrative authorities, information and financial resource. For example, the TV channels have dedicated Aliyev 12 hours of time, positively introducing him as a candidate, while the opposition was only given 16 minutes for criticism.

The authorities tried to disrupt the election meetings of Gasanly and all such meetings were held in administrative pressure.

The oil factor in terms of corruption did not become a catalyst for economic development and well-being of society, as evidenced by all the international reports, including indexes of corruption, human dimension, etc.

He said that the economic policy of the National Council is based on the elimination of corruption, support for the private sector, agriculture and industrial production with the participation of foreign investment.

When asked how he sees the solution to the Karabakh conflict, Gasanly noticed that the military rhetoric of President Ilham Aliyev has not led to anything.

Resolution of the conflict must be sought through democratization of Azerbaijan and Armenia. First of all, Azerbaijan has to become a democratic and constitutional state that guarantees minorities equal rights and opportunities.

The candidate of the National Council expressed concern about the preparation of the authorities to rig the elections. He said that the authorities have included in the lists of voters those, who have left to work in other countries. Their number is estimated at 3 million people and on their behalf ballots will be cast.

Along with the traditional "carousels", there is an innovation - all budget employees are instructed to photograph the ballot paper with their mobile phones, by which they voted in favor of Ilham Aliyev, and then submit the photo as proof to their superiors.

To manage the process of rigging up there is a special system of foremen, centurions and thousanders, which are responsible for rigging at all levels.

The National Council will not recognize the results of the exit poll, which is conducted by the media controlled by the government with the participation of questionable polling agencies from the United States and France.

Gasanly reported that the assessment by the previous election mission of PACE caused distrust of the organization, as some of its members serve as advocates of Ilham Aliyev.

At that point the head of the PACE delegation Robert Voulter said that the remark is unfair, because the members of the mission are sympathetic to the situation in Azerbaijan.

Participating in the meeting, the Chairman of the Popular Front Party Ali Kerimli reminded the mission that the voters in Azerbaijan are going to vote with 142 political prisoners and the unprecedented pressure on the society. - 0 –