Rasim Aghayev: "The fight between opposition leaders for $3,000,000, spent by USA for democratic elections in Azerbaijan, will be even more acute than for presidency"

Mr. Aghayev, how do you assess the sociopolitical situation in Azerbaijan within five months before the next presidential elections?

-It remains extremely stable. There are all signs of undoubted domination of existent powers and absence of worthy opponents for powers, which is either because the society has exhausted or that there is not a worthy leader, who could lead the people. There is an impression that such state will last too long. In particular, in connection with the expanding financial potential of the working authorities of Azerbaijan, which do not want to share powers with anyone.

Therefore, it is surprising that the authorities of Azerbaijan, despite significant diplomatic success, did not manage to settle Nagorno-Karabakh problem, returning the lands of our country, occupied by Armenia in conditions of total corruption and other serious problems.

This is a characteristic feature of political situation in Azerbaijan that even in conditions of existence of such a great number of unsettled problems, the powers are dominating, even without special methods of pressure on opposition.

-Can it be stated today that the working president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will win the presidential election?

-Through the whole period of opposing the working authorities, the opposition parties were not able to consolidate and transform, or work out a program, which would promote its worthy and successful opposing of powers. The program should have fixed alternative ways of settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, ways of settlement of problem of corruption, combat with monopolies and other negative components of our present-day reality. But there is no such program.

The activity of local opposition is limited by making the same announcements as authorities, both in the issue of the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict and about the settlement of socioeconomic problems of Azerbaijan. But there is nothing behind the common phrases of the opposition representatives, while powers manage to undertake some steps in this direction.

People see it all and make conclusions, therefore, today, except for Lala Hajiyeva, who is alone on our political arena, the rest opposition leaders have no chance to gain support of significant number of voters,

In this conditions, it need not be an oracle to predict that working President Ilham Aliyev will win the elections with majority of votes.

-How will the opposition leaders try to justify their next defeat?

-The same way as they have justified their numerous failures before. Officially they will claim that elections were held in conditions of total falsifications, lack of sufficient air time during the election campaign, lack of financial potential to rival the working authorities.

On the inofficial level, the leaders of traditional opposition would say that our people did not believe them, was politically short-signted, selling themselves for presents and promises of the working authorities.

We should not expect anything new from our opposition and even so more a thorough analysis of the reasons of their own failures with the further work in this direction.

-So we have made it clear with the traditional opposition leaders. What about the chances of political scientist Eldar Namazov, who nominated his candidacy for presidential elections?

-This was an expected decision, as Eldar Namazov has long been positioning himself more as an alternative to working opposition leaders than to working authorities.

But I do not think he will be attain more than Bashqan of Musavat party Isa Qambar did. He is too vulnerable from the political point of view and is not supported by serious political powers and electorate. He does not have an image of a leader. He is famous as flexible, accurate and quite informed political scientist, but not as a politician.

This proves that he has no chances to win.

-As we have revealed, nether the traditional nor untraditional opposition has chances for victory at the upcoming presidential elections. Then, what is the purpose of political figures, which nominate their candidacies?

-It can be proposed that the actors of the upcoming presidential elections pursue two purposes: remind about the very fact of their existence to wide audience and improve their material state.

I am sure that the fight between opposition leaders for $3,000,000, spent by USA for democratic elections in Azerbaijan will be even more acute than for presidency.

/Day.Az/