REAL Finally Becomes Party

Baku / 09.04.18 / Turan: Last weekend the constituent congress of the Republican Alternative Party (REAL) was held. Due to the obstacles of the authorities, the congress was held on-line.

In social networks, a platform was created for delegates to the congress, at which registration and discussion of participants took place.

On April 8, delegates in the office of the organization formed secret working bodies by secret ballot, the member of the Mejlis of the REAL Party Natig Jafarli told Turan.

According to him, since September 2017 members of the organizing committee for holding the congress have applied 48 times to state, private and public institutions with a request to provide premises.

"We applied to the premises on the balance of the executive authorities and the Ministry of Culture. For all applications, we received refusals, even from hotels," Jafarli said.

"An online platform was created, where all delegates were registered, and then online discussions of the program and the charter of the organization were conducted, and they were amended.

On Saturday (April 7) an online voting was held and the program and the charter were adopted.

Further by online voting we organized an election commission. On April 10, from 10.00 to 18.00, a secret ballot was held at REAL headquarters through ballots.

Ilgar Mammadov was elected chairman of the party. In addition, 40 members of the Mejlis were elected," Jafarli said.

In the coming days, the Mejlis of the party will elect its chairman and board. REAL does not intend to apply to the Ministry of Justice for registration.

"If we were not given premises for holding a congress, then they will not register us. For registration, we must submit to the Ministry of Justice the personal data of 1,000 party members. The number of members of our party is more than two thousand people. But we do not want to represent the personal data of members, so as not to create problems for them.

On the other hand, to engage in political activities there is no need to seek permission from the state, as the constitution guarantees citizens freedom of association and assembly.

On the other hand, there are precedent decisions of the European Court of Human Rights that political activity does not require a permit from the state. We are taking advantage of this and do not intend to apply to the Ministry of Justice," Jafarli said.

The main program objectives of the party are the transition from the presidential to the parliamentary republic and the restoration of republican values ​​in the country.

"Our main program goals are transition to a parliamentary republic, to a model of a small effective government, to the accession of a state with civil control," Jafarli said.

The party intends to participate in the next parliamentary elections with the nomination of candidates in all 125 districts.

The REAL movement was established in late 2008 and immediately opposed the referendum in March 2009, at which restrictions on the stay of one person as President of the country for more than 2 consecutive terms were canceled.

In 2013, the leader of the movement, Ilgar Mammadov, was arrested and sentenced to 7 years in prison on charges of organizing mass riots in Ismayilli.

The authorities continue to keep him in prison, despite the fact that the ECHR has taken two decisions on the illegality of his criminal prosecution. -03B06-