“The ruling party "Yeni Azerbaijan" is in a hurry to nominate it’s candidate for presidency. Previously, they said they would do it in July or even in August, but now they have announced a date, June 7. Such haste is due to nervousness by authorities," said Leyla Yunus, a well-known human rights activist, and the Director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, in an interview with Turan.
The nervousness of the authorities is expressed by the arrests of youth activists, and repression that has greatly increased in recent months. The most recent example is yesterday's arrest of lawyer Gurban Mammadov, who became a member of the National Council.
"I believe that the repression will increase, and the democratic public should be prepared for this. I believe that we should not allow the authorities to get ahead of us”.
“The meeting of the National Council is scheduled for June 7, and it would be good to nominate, during the meeting, a single opposition candidate for the presidential election. Thus, we will break the attempts by the authorities to state that there is confusion, discord and controversy in the National Council, and that this idea is doomed to failure," said Yunus. As for the single candidate, she believes that it should be Rustam Ibrahimbayov.
"This nomination brings together the National Council. Today it is the best and most reasonable solution. There are many reasons: Ibrahimbayov is widely known, both in the country and around the world. Regardless of political views, from Astara to the Guba region, from Gazakh to Salyan, all will vote for Ibrahimbayov, because he is a unifying figure. Finally, Rustam Ibrahimbayov is a man who will not be afraid, and will stand up to the pressure of the authorities," said Yunus.
"Another argument in favor of his candidacy is that Ibragimbayov does not have political ambitions to stay in power for five years, and he can fulfill an important role in transition, making a relevant reform in two years: to change the constitution and make the country, not presidential, but a parliamentary republic, and to hold fair parliamentary elections," said Yunus.
She noted that the National Council includes people with different views and positions. Often, these positions are not the same, but the politicians and public figures are there for one purpose, to resist corrupt government lawlessness.
"In order to implement this common goal, we must nominate our candidate, Ibrahimbayov on June 7, so that he can return to Baku as a single candidate from the democratic forces. He should make all his subsequent trips as a presidential candidate," said Yunus. -02В-
Question-answer
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