Isa Gambar: Azerbaijani People Always Ready for Democratic Elections

"At the upcoming congress, I, in accordance with the charter of the party, will not run for the post of the leader," said in an interview with Objective TV the chairman of Musavat Isa Gambar. However, his nomination may occur against his will, but the issue is not on the agenda yet, said Gambar.

Initially, the authorities should provide an office with appropriate status for the the main opposition party, and then we can discuss other topics. If the party decides that in 2013 Gambar should run for president, it will be done, said the leader of Musavat.

A few days ago Gambar declared intention to once again be a candidate for the presidency, which caused quite a stir. The reason for this is that the opposition had previously discussed the question of a single candidate, and his candidacy was not determined.

Gambar said that Azerbaijan twice held the presidential election in the presence of real alternative candidates - in 1992, when Elchibey was elected and in 2003, when Gambar won the race, and the CEC "stole" his votes.

Election did not need fraud twice - in 1993, when Heydar Aliyev was elected, and in 2008, with the re-election of Ilham Aliyev. However, both candidates had no alternative.

Azerbaijani people are ready for the "classic" election, within the meaning of the world public. Even now, in the presence of imperfect Election Code, we can hope for higher consciousness of the electorate. But before we talk about transparent elections, the government must have the political will.

Now there is no point in discussing a single candidate from the opposition, because we have to work out a common electoral platform and determine the unifying ideological position. You can then discuss the procedure for the nomination. The Musavat party has the experience of primaries in 2000, when 25 most optimal candidates were nominated for the parliament.

Today the country has the Public Chamber, which regularly offers initiatives under the "road map" of the transition from authoritarian to democratic rule. This is an example of dialogue that is hampered due to silence of the authorities, Gambar said.

There is a little more than a year before the election. This is a short period of time to enable the electorate. The opposition cannot waste time discussing minor problems, if it wants to fight the authorities.

It is necessary to use resources of the international democratic community, in particular, international news and analytical channels.

The local Internet space and especially social networks have recently become a very attractive area of ??information and propaganda. We should meet more often with people in the regions. People need no new proof, because they are well-informed about the level of corruption, the domination of officials, and human rights violations. We just need to give them confidence that democratic elections are inevitable and the candidate of the democratic forces will win. We require citizens to be not just voters, but campaigners, members of election headquarters and observers. Activity of the civil society is a key to the victory of its candidate, concluded Gambar. -17D-