Experts treat opposition's chances at elections in Azerbaijan as low (+video)

The oppositional candidates for the National Assembly are unable to compete with those, who support the authorities of Azerbaijan. This is caused by the restriction of democratic freedoms in the country, local political analysts assert.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 28, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev signed a resolution to schedule the next elections to the National Assembly for November 1.

Arastun Orujlu, the head of the "East-West" Research Centre finds it difficult to give a forecast of election outcomes.

"I don't want to make predictions, because there is no environment for the elections in the country. I can only say that the outcomes are predetermined at the very beginning of the campaign," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Zarudusht Alizade, a political scientist and the head of the Baku School of Journalism, sticks to the same opinion.

"We can evaluate the chances of candidates, if there is a real competitive process. Our elections may be compared with a race, where one racer is a runner with heavy weights attached to the legs, and the other one is a motorcyclist," Mr Alizade has expressed his opinion.

Natig Jafarli, the executive secretary of the movement "Republican Alternative" (ReAl), told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that in the current realities of Azerbaijan fair elections are impossible.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.