Ayaz Mutallibov, co-chairman of oppositional left wing Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan (SDPA) says rumors about his quitting post of co-chairman of the party are not true.
Whether to retain post of co-chairman of the party is my own business, Mutallibov said to TrendNews by telephone from Moscow.
Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan will hold a conference on 27 September.
Mutallibov said it is not possible to run the party by telephone from a long distance.
Though I have been running the party for the last five years, I can not come to my home land yet. If I ran the party right in Baku, there would be no rumors, he added.
He said he did not expect any serious changes take place in the next conference of the party.
All members of the party who accept socio-democratic policy and idea of the party are my partners, he said.
Mutallibov said certain processes within the party are natural. We have certain problems as other parties. We never hide them. We are a democratic party, he said.
He said he will join conference of the party by telephone. /Trend/

The Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan (CEC) registered about 700 local observers of the presidential elections. Over 200 observers are the representatives of local NGOs, CEC said to Trend News on 25 September.
District election commissions registered 20,000 observers. CEC will complete registration of observers ten days and district election commission five days before the voting. /Trend/

After finishing trainigs for observers in 12 regional centers of Azerbaijan, the Association for Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan (ACSDA) started to launch a new project related to the election enlightenment on the eve of the presidential elections.
The members of the Association held a semiar in Sumgait State Univercity onSeptember 26. Issues related to recommendations of Venice Commission, changes to Election Code, ways to increase voter’s activity, importance of enlightenment process in fair and transparent elections, exit poll and quick count analisys etc were discussed in the event attended by more than hundred students and teachers. Head of ACSDA EH Maharram Zulfugarli, ACSDA’s members Ramil Gasimzadeh and Osman Agayev responded to dufferent questions of participants.
ACSDA continues events in regions within the project “Burst of voters’ activity in presidential and municipal elections, organization of enlightenment to contribute to hold transparent elections” supported by the Council of State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations under the President of Azerbaijani Republic.

Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (PBC) cast lots in order to determine the presidential candidates` air time with the presence of their representatives, APA reports quoting the press service of the TV channel. Chingiz Aslanov, the head of Draw Commission, deputy director of Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (PBC) said that the candidates will get about 6 hours of air time and five candidates had already requested for air time since the election campaign was launched. He further added that air time was determined from 09:51 until 22:51 both on TV and Radio. Both TV and Radio were provided with equal condition.
According to lots results, Hafiz Hajiyev, from Muasir Musavat Party (New Musavat) was chosen to be the first candidate to get free air time followed by Ilham Aliyev, current president from ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party, Igbal Aghazadeh, Umud Party (Hope Party), Gudrat Hasanquliyev, United Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, and Fazil Gazanfaroghlu, Great Salvation Party. The candidates will not be able to overuse their air times.
18:51 and 19:51 air times determined for even weekdays will be replaced with 18:42 and 19:54 accordingly in connection with round-table talks between the candidates. Mr. Aslanov told journalists that PBC had made changes to fees for air times. Candidates who will be using TV will get 30%, and those using Radio will get 50% discount on air times./APA/

The Azerbaijan National Independence Party held a zonal conference on “Preparation for Dialog, Abilities to Conduct Negotiations, Alliances in Election and Local Policy” along with Swedish Moderat and Jarl Harmson Foundation, press service of the Party told the APA. According to the information, session was held in Lankaran region of Azerbaijan. The event was attended by the representatives of the Foundation and members of ANIP central office. /APA/

British Alison Sutherland and German Reinhard Brysch, OSCE oberserves met with Executive Power and Constituency Election Commission 116 of Gabala region. They are reported to hold meetings with officials of Executive Power and 116 Constituency ELection Commission of Gabala. Tofig Ibrahimov, the head of the executive power, informed the observers about the region, its history, ethnic composition of local population, their employment condition, region’s economy, agriculture, etc. He underlined the preparation works in residential areas in connection with October 15 presidential elections. /APA/

Baku Mayor’s Office has replied to several opposition parties’ appeal in connection with the rally planned for September 28. Head of Central Executive Board of Musavat Party Arif Hajili told APA that the Mayor’s Office did not sanction the parties’ rally. The city administration offered to hold the rally in Bibiheybet stadium of Neftchi Spott-health center. Arif Hajili said they were not going to hold the rally in Bibiheybet and postponed the rally.
“We will appeal to court in connection with the decision of Baku Mayor’s Office. We will also begin discussing other ways for holding rallies and unsanctioned rallies,” he said.
Musavat Party, Azerbaijan People’s Front Party, Liberal Party, Citizen and Development Party, Public Forum for Azerbaijan had scheduled rally for September 28. In their appeal to the Mayor’s Office the parties asked permission for holding rally in one of the nine squares. /APA/

The first stage of the trainings related to Exit Poll research to be held by “ELS” Independent Researches Center along with the Association for Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan (ACSDA) concluded. According to the information of the Center, more than 1600 interviewers and about 200 supervisors took part in the first stage of the trainings held in all constituencies and polling stations in the country. The interviewers and supervisors were given broad information about organization of exit poll and research. The attendees were also shown the blanks of questionnaires to be used during exit poll. The trainers didn’t encounter any serious problem within the first stage of the trainings. Some interviewers lacking the criteria as age and appearance were replaced by others in reserve. Meanwhile, the representatives of the OSCE Baku office also attended the trainings and appraised the level of them. The expert group of “ELS” Independent Researches Center also participated in the trainings and gave recommendations to interviewers and supervisors related to the conduction of exit poll.
Meanwhile, the first stage of the trainings finished on September 22. The second stage of the trainings will start on September 27 after the precise list of candidates is approved, the Center informed.

Results of presidential elections to be held in Azerbaijan will be discussed at the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in January 2009.
“Issues regarding Azerbaijan will be considered during the winter session,” Samed Seyidov, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE, the chairman of the permanent parliamentary commission on international and interparliamentary relations of the Milli Majlis [Parliament] told Trend News on 24 September.
The agenda of the autumn session does not include any issue on Azerbaijan, as the country is in the run up to the presidential elections.
During the autumn session it is not planned to hold a meeting of the PACE Ad Hoc Committee on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, or elect the new chairman of this committee, Seyidov said.
“Over two days the session will mull over conflict between Georgia and Russia. Members of the PACE Ad Hoc Committee on Georgian-Russian conflict have left for Russia. The delegation will shortly visit Georgia. The session will discuss the results of visit and a report to be developed in this respect, Seyidov said.
Azerbaijan supports the territorial integrity of Georgia and the parliamentary delegates to the PACE will come out from this position at the PACE session. “Azerbaijan recognizes territorial integrity of Georgia. We want solution to the conflict within the framework of international norms, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders, as well as peace in the region,” Seyidov said.
The delegation will leave for Strasbourg on 27 September.

The Azerbaijani authorities consider claim of the opposition Umid (Hope) Party’s presidential candidature on officials’ participation in the propaganda campaign, organized by the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP), as groundless.
“There is not such a case and the Umid Party’s apply to the Central Elections Commission (CEC) is unfair,” Ali Hasanov, the head of the Public and Political Department of the Azerbaijani President’s Administration, told journalists on 24 September.
None of top state employees participates in the pre-election propaganda campaign held by the ruling party, Hasanov said.
“As to any state employees’ participation in demonstration organized by any party after the working hours, it is their private right. Every state employee is a citizen and voter. They have the right to join any action after the working hours,” Hasanov said.
State employees do not participate actively in the pre-election propaganda campaign or sound challenges against or for any candidature, he said.
“If such case happens, measure will be taken in line with the Law,” Hasanov said. /Trend/

The Azerbaijani opposition bloc Azadlig (Liberty) considers some opposition parties’ opinion regarding the mass actions as incorrect step.
“Arguments of political forces, which refused to participate in the presidential elections, should be publicized. It is impossible to inform the whole society only through media. Mass actions should be used as a mean of publicizing these arguments,” Ali Aliyev, the chairman of the Citizen and Development Party (CDP), told Trend News on 24 September.
At the beginning of September, parties included in Azadlig bloc the (the Popular Front Party, the Liberal Party and the Citizen and Development), the Musavat Party and the Public Forum ‘For Azerbaijan’ signed a joint statement on recognition of the presidential elections to be held on 15 October as illegitimate. Government to be formed after the presidential elections, are announced as illegitimate in the statement.
On 22 September political organizations, which signed a joint statement to boycott the presidential elections, applied to the Baku City Administration to sanction a demonstration scheduled for 28 September.
Work with public on demonstration is delayed a little bit, Aliyev said. “The organizing committee in charge of arrangements for demonstration is waiting for a reply from the Baku City Administration. As soon as the place of mass actions is defined, we will launch mechanisms to inform the public on demonstrations,” he said.
“It depends on a place to be authorized for mass actions,” Aliyev said. He was commenting on appeals by other opposition parties on joining the demonstration. “We do not have a concrete decision on an official appeal to other political parties. Following a decision on authorization of the place a meeting, we will decide to whom appeal in this respect,” Aliyev said.
Although about 10,000 people are expected to participate in demonstration, Aliyev find it difficult to make earlier forecasts on mass actions. “It has been three years that freedom of assembly is not provided in Azerbaijan. We mentioned in the appeal, which was submitted to the City Administration, that about 10,000 people are expected to participate in the action, taking into consideration resources of political organizations. However, number of participants in the demonstration may rise,” the CDP chairman said. /Trend/

The presidential candidate, Chairman of the United Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (BAXCP) Gudrat Hasanguliyev met with the voters in Lankaran City on Wednesday. His representative, Chairman of the United Azerbaijan National Unity Party Hajibaba Azimov opened the meeting at the Lankaran Olympic Center and informed the voters about the candidate.
Hasanguliyev spoke about the Constitutional reforms in Azerbaijan, socio-economic aspects of his program, settlement of Nagorno Karabakh problem and army-building. The candidate said that oil incomes in Azerbaijan should be spent usefully and production and refinery plants should be opened in the country.
Professor of the Lankaran State University Masud Mammadov spoke about the negative cases observed in his organization. Hasanguliyev listened to complaints of the voters and responded their questions. /APA/