Changes to law on parties in focus of Azerbaijani MPs

The changes to the law on "political parties" have been discussed in the Azerbaijani parliament today.

Umid Chairman, MP Iqbal Aghazade has expressed his claim to the issue of submitting the program of political parties to the relevant executive body while discussing the amendments to the law at a meeting of the parliamentary committee on legal policy and state building with participation of party representatives today.

"Every party has its own tactics in the elections," he said. "It is not obliged to advertise it." He also commented on the mechanism of the state financing.

"It is unfair to allocate funds in the same volume to the party that nominated the candidate from the two constituencies and accidentally won one parliamentary seat and the party that nominated the candidate from 125 constituencies and won one parliamentary seat," he said.

Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party chairman, MP Gudrat Hasanguliyev said that political parties must be financed only from the state budget.

"If the party's activity is financed by a physical or legal entity, the party depends on this entity," he said. "The funds must be allocated only to the parties represented in the Parliament."

"If this does not happen, the establishment of political parties will be perceived as a commercial activity in the future," Hasanguliyev said.

Chairman of the Social Welfare Party, MP Khanhuseyn Kazimli called the changes to the law as the progress.

"We should simplify the registration of political parties," he said.

Ana Veten party Deputy Chairman, MP Zahid Oruj said that the Venice Commission has expressed the protest over a ban on the party establishment by a foreign citizen, while the ban takes place in several European countries," he said.

Orudj also considers the provision of the parties having 5,000 members with funds as positive.

MPs Asim Mollazade, Faraj Guliyev, Sabir Rustamkhanli, Ilyas Ismailov have also expressed the attitude to the changes.


/Trend/