16:24, 5 August 2013

Azerbaijan: opposition finds change of date of presidential election unjustified

Zafar Guliev. Photo: http://www.radiozadlyg.org (RFE/RL).

On August 3, the schedule of key events and activities related to preparation and holding the October 9 presidential election in Azerbaijan was published in the official press. Activists of the opposition treat the shift of the voting day to an earlier date as illegal and unjustified, and caused by a possible intention of the authorities to exclude Rustam Ibragimbekov from the race.

Azerbaijani authorities are in a hurry, fearing the growing authority of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF), said Zafar Guliev, a member of the Council and the Vice-Chairman of the political movement EL (People).

"The authorities are doing everything to stop Rustam Ibragimbekov, the candidate of the NCDF, from taking part in the election. They seek not to let Ibragimbekov terminate his Russian citizenship," Zafar Guliev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He added that the decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) is illegal, because under the Electoral Code of Azerbaijan, the election is to be held on the third Wednesday of October, that is, on October 16. "If that day falls on a holiday, the election should be postponed to a later date," said Guliev.

Author: Faik Medzhid

Source: CK correspondent