Musavat Demands Postponement of Parliamentary Elections

The Musavat party called on the authorities to postpone parliamentary elections for 4 months and during this period to create democratic conditions for their implementation. Otherwise, Musavat reserves the right to withdraw from the elections. The party will take the final decision on October 28. This was announced during the pre-election rally held by Musavat at the stadium Mehsul in the Yasamal district of Baku on 25 October.

The stadium is located in the 15th Yasamal First Constituency, at which the former head of Musavat, the head of the National Strategic Thought Center Isa Gambar is running. In this regard, during the action Gambar also had a meeting with voters.

The current head of Musavat Arif Hajili stressed in his speech that, making the decision to participate in the elections, Musavat showed that "it is always in the forefront of the fight against the anti-democratic regime."

However, in his opinion, "the authorities are once again preparing to rig the elections."

According to him, for fear of honest competition, the authorities have not even provided airtime for campaigning in elections. This is the first case in the history of presidential and parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan.

He noted that in the current situation, when the country has a large number of political prisoners and there are no even the least conditions for a democratic election campaign, the parliamentary elections should be abolished.

In his opinion, 4 months later new elections should be conducted and by that time the electoral law should be corrected to eliminate the control of election commissions by the ruling political forces, to ensure equal opportunities for all participants, and to release political prisoners.

Hajili said because of this problem Musavat might refuse to participate in the elections on November 1st. The party's final decision will be taken at the meeting of the governing bodies of Musavat on 28 October.

 According to the former head of Musavat, the head of the National Strategic Thought Center, Isa Gambar, the scandal surrounding the MNS is approaching the end of the regime.

"The authorities officially recognize what games were played by the Ministry of National Security. Ilham Aliyev knew what the MNS was doing instead of performing its duties - it acted against the democratic camp.

And now the power pretends that only now they have learned that instead of dealing with issues of national security that office terrorized, blackmailed and robbed businesmen. Now it is clear that this was not the Ministry of National Security, but the Ministry of National Danger. And other ministries are in the same condition. This regime has stolen 22 years  from us. They steal not only our oil, but also our lives. The thieves of the authoritarian regime steal our life. But this regime comes to an end. Musavat and the real democratic forces have always done everything they could to get rid of this regime," said Gambar.

In his view, the government itself recognizes that it has exhausted itself.

"The leaders of the regime have always said that "next year will be better." Now Ilham Aliyev admits that "next year will be difficult," said Gambar.

However, he pointed out that the budget for 2016 has been immediately reduced by a quarter. As Gambar noted, the decrease in oil revenues has canceled or significantly reduced the unofficial salaries of officials in "envelopes".

According to him, Musavat is for a peaceful change of power through elections.

International experience and practice of the post-Soviet countries shows that when regimes do not create conditions for free elections, the citizens change them by their peaceful protests, Gambar said.

It is inevitable in Azerbaijan, Gambar said. However, in his view, ouster through elections is in favor of the same regime that is losing the trust of both the citizens and the international community.

In conclusion, the resolution of the rally was announced.

With this in mind, the resolution put forward demands to release political prisoners, to create conditions for free and fair elections, to reform the electoral law, and especially to ensure the independence of electoral commissions and equal opportunities for campaigning, to provide free air time for public debate, and etc. In order to make these and other necessary measures it was proposed to suspend the parliamentary elections on November 1 and hold them 4 months later. -06D--