On April 11, early presidential election will be held in Azerbaijan. Initially, it was initially set to hold the vote in October but they decided to hold it six months earlier. There were several reasons for such a decision.
First, it opens up additional opportunities for carrying out important socio-economic and political reforms.
Second, in international practice they try to hold election earlier in the year. This is due to economic reasons, since this ensures the execution of presidential powers from the beginning of the fiscal year.
Third, Azerbaijan will host a number of large-scale events in the period from May to December, including international ones: the International Humanitarian Forum under the patronage of the Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan; celebrations timed to the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic; the 10th anniversary of the Baku process, the next stage of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship, the world judo championship and the world championship on sport capoeira.
Azerbaijani President`s Assistant for Public and Political Affairs Ali Hasanov said that the authorities expect that the country will be able to elections in a democratic, transparent and fair manner in accordance with both international norms and national legislation. Those wishing to take part in the election can get themselves registered with the CEC and start their election campaign. Meanwhile, Baku admits that none of the representatives of opposition parties can compete with the incumbent president, trusted by people. According to European sociologists, 81% of Azerbaijani citizens support the policy of the current government, and 85.2% - personally Aliyev. On April 11, international observers from the OSCE, PACE, SCO, OIC, BSEC and CIS will see whether that is true or not with their own eyes.
So far, not all Baku's relations with international structures can be called ideal. For example, Azerbaijan was accused of lacking press freedom and even torturing journalists. Baku calls such statements a consequence of double standards, patiently explaining that freedom of speech and information is ensured in Azerbaijan, the legislative base regulating the status and role of media in the society is improved, several hundreds of newspapers are published, dozens of TV channels and news agencies operate, and the number of Internet users exceeds 80%. However, like in any other country, if a media employee commits unlawful acts under the guise of his journalistic activities, he must answer for it.
According to Ali Hasanov, the main problem of Baku today is the ongoing occupation of Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent regions of Azerbaijan, which has lasted more than 25 years. The forces that have occupied these territories still do not comply with the resolutions of the OSCE, PACE, OIC, and the UN Security Council, which recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan. The OSCE Minsk Group (MG) dealing with the settlement of the conflict has not yet achieved any positive results. Russia is also making efforts in settling the Karabakh conflict both within the MG and independently, but without much success.
Meanwhile, Baku indicates its relations with Moscow as a priority direction of its foreign policy, constantly emphasizing good-neighborly relations developed between the countries, which are characterized by a high level of mutual trust and are characterized as strategic. Today, it is also about the fact that Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkey can form a tripartite cooperation platform, which seems promising in economic terms and in terms of developing transport infrastructure. And the sooner the mechanisms, supported or initiated by the current leadership of Azerbaijan, are launched, the better.
