Musavat Party Refuses to Participate in April 11 Elections

Baku / 10.02.18 / Turan: The Majlis (Board) of the Musavat party decided on Saturday to refuse to participate in the extraordinary presidential elections in Azerbaijan, scheduled for April 11.

As the head of the Musavat party Arif Hajili said, "the appointment of extraordinary presidential elections in Azerbaijan is illegal and devoid of legitimate bases."

"The decision to appoint special elections for April 11 is based on the changes made in the Constitution during the rigged referendum in September 2016," Hajili said.

On the other hand, he continued, the appointment of early elections should have been justified. "The public should have been provided with explanations on the need for holding early elections," Hajili said.

In addition, he said, the country does not even have minimal conditions for free elections.

Refusing to participate in the elections, Musavat nevertheless intends to "counteract falsification of elections together with other political forces."

Earlier nominated by Musavat as presidential candidate, now head of the Center for National Strategic Thought, Isa Gambar said he respects the decision of the party and refuses to participate in the elections.

In his view, the authorities intend to rig the election results on April 11. "Yes, Ilham Aliyev can once again falsify the election and take this chair. However, I am sure his current term will not last for seven years, but will be very short," Gambar said.

Earlier, the National Council of Democratic Forces of Azerbaijan announced the boycott of extraordinary presidential elections, and the Republican Alternative movement announced the non-recognition of their results.-06D--