A rally demanding registration of “Azerbaijan Democracy and Welfare” Party held in Baku

Members of the “Azerbaijan Democracy and Prosperity” Party have held a picket in front of the building of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of Azerbaijan because of its third refusal to register the opposition organization. The protestors believe the grounds for refusal in registration are untenable.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that Gubad Ibadoglu, the deputy chair of the “Musavat” Party, was a candidate for the post of the leader of the organization, but Arif Gadjily was elected the new leader of the “Musavat” Party. In 2014, members of the “Musavat” Party who disagreed with the decisions of the congress announced the creation of the “Movement for Democracy and Prosperity”.

Gubad Ibadoglu, the leader of the “Azerbaijan Democracy and Prosperity” Party, said that for the third time, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of Azerbaijan indicated the lack of rules on the procedure for nominating candidates from the party in the elections as the basis for refusing to register the party.

Gubad Ibadoglu pointed to the groundlessness of the MoJ’s claims. According to him, the delay in the registration of the party is “politically motivated.”

Gusein Melikov, a member of the board of the “Azerbaijan Democracy and Prosperity” Party, said that in the past year, the Azerbaijani MoJ registered nine parties. “But we are denied registration because we do not collude with the regime,” Gusein Melikov said.

Namizad Safarov, a coordinator of the Centre against Repression and Torture, believes that there is a problem in Azerbaijan with the realization of the right to association, guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms.