Member of Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AXCP), former member of the parliament Murtuz Alasgarov resigned from the party. He told APA he sent resignation letter to AXCP leadership. Guliyev explained his resignation with the disagreements inside the party around the tactical moves particularly related to the attitude to elections. He said he decided to leave party because it was not joining the elections and passively boycotting it.
Guliyev said he would join Gulamhuseyn Alibeyli, who resigned from AXCP earlier. ‘Gulamhuseyn bey is participating in the elections and I al always advocating for the participation in the elections”.
Guliyev said he would join the party to be founded by Gulamhuseyn Alibeyli. /APA/

“New Generation” Journalists Union held the monitoring of media on the eve of the pre-election campaign of 2008, Chairman of the Union Arif Aliyev told at press conference, APA reports. The monitoring was realized within the frames of “Free and Fair Elections” Joint Program by Council of Europe and European Commission. According to Aliyev, the indications about the function of media are assessed on the basis of international methodological standards. Meanwhile, the mentioned monitoring started on 6 June and lasted the period till the election campaign. Aliyev says, the situation has remained unchanged from beginning to the end of the monitoring. /APA/

Azerbaijan National Independence Party appealed to Ramil Usubov, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, ANIP secretary of press Ali Orujov told the APA. According to Orujov, the reason of the appeal was robbery committed on August 24 in the office of the Party located in Imishli region. The appeal expresses dissatisfaction with the investigation carried out in regional police office and requests for legal assessment. /APA/

The observation mission of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) visited Hajigabul, Salyan, Astara, Lankaran, Lerik and Jalilabad regions on September 17-18 and met with the local officials. Member of the mission, adviser to the press service of CIS Executive Committee Maria Gutsalo told APA the observers visited the district electoral commissions and took an interest in the preparations for the presidential elections and agitation campaign.
The observers noted that local officials were interested in the free, transparent and democratic elections and the election campaign was going within the calendar plan and existed legislation. /APA/

The Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan (CEC) registered the lawyers of Chairman of opposition Great Establishment Party, Presidential Candidate Fazil Gazanfaroglu. “The party has submitted to the CEC the list of 50 lawyers of Fazil Gazanfaroglu,” the CEC Secretary, Natig Mammadov, said at CEC session on 19 September.
The session made a decision delegating Ibrahim Mammadov the right of consultation vote in CEC on behalf of the Great Establishment Party. /Trend/

Deputy Chairman, Executive Secretary of New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) Ali Ahmadov’s appeal to Central Election Commission (CEC) concerning presidential candidate Igbal Agazadeh will be considered in the Media Group under the commission, spokesman for CEC Azer Sariyev told APA. He said as concrete decision had not been made on the appeal at the meeting of the media group, the issue would be discussed at the next meeting. /APA/

The Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan (CEC) confirmed the attestation regulations of the organizations which will hold exit-poll during the Presidential elections.
“The organizations which want to hold exit-poll should have experience and technical possibilities in this regard,” the CEC Chairman, Mazahir Panahov, said at the CEC session on 19 September.
According to the regulations confirmed by the CEC, the organizations which want to hold exit-poll should appeal to the CEC for registration 20 days prior to the elections. The organizations should inform the CEC of their resources, technical possibilities, place and number of exit poll to be held. Furthermore, the organizations should submit to the CEC the proofs on their exit-poll experience.
According to the regulations, the organizations which want to hold exit-poll must be legal entity. /Trend/

The Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan (CEC) allocated AZN 12,000 (nearly $15,000) from the Public budget for each Presidential candidate.
“The candidates can take the money in near days,” the CEC member Ramiz Ibrahimov briefed the media on 19 September.
Ibrahimov said that Public budget will not allocate money for the Chairman of United Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, Gudrat Hasanguliyev and Chairman of Muasir Musavat Party, Hafiz Hajiyev, who were Presidential candidates in 2002.
“Because according to the Electoral Code, the candidates who collected less than 3% votes should re-pay the money allocated from the Public budget. However, although Gudrat Hasanguliyev and Hafiz Hajiyev collected less than 3% votes, they did not re-pay the money allocated from the Public budget,” the CEC member said.
Ibrahimov said that those who collect less than 3% votes should re-pay the money allocated from the Public budget this time as well. He said that the Public budget allocated AZN 23.5mln.
“This amount has been fully transferred to the CEC account. According to the Electoral Code, this amount should be spent on preparation of elections, wages of the Commission members, technical support for the elections, election posters, etc.,” he said. /Trend/

The Azerbaijani National Broadcasting Council (NBC) supports the unified estimation of private channels concerning candidates’ paid air time.
“TV channels should take into account the existing realities and hold estimation on the election propaganda campaign,” Nushiravan Maharramli, the chairman of the NBC, told Trend News on 19 September.
To fix an advertisement price on propaganda of presidential candidatures is an interior affair of TV channels and the Council should interfere into it, Maharraml said.
Some presidential candidatures are not satisfied with advertisement prices at TV channels.
“We have not faced with any problem since the election propaganda began. The elections headquarters have not received complaints from places. The only problem is the highest price of advertisement at TV channels,” Elchin Mirzabayli, the head of the elections headquarters of Gudrat Hasanguliyev, who was nominated from the opposition Unified Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, told Trend News.
According to Mirzabayli, the Broadcasting Council should examine the issue on the highest prices of advertisements at the TV channels. “Prices of political advertisements should differ from other advertisements. Presidential candidatures cannot afford such highest prices,” Mirzabayli stressed.
Fazil Gazanfaroglu, a presidential candidature from the opposition Great Establishment Party, mentioned the highest prices of advertisements at the TV channel in his interview to Trend News.
“We are interested in advertisement prices and they are too expensive. It is impossible to use air time through these prices,” Gazafaroglu said.
The presidential candidature joins initiative to apply to the NBC.
“I think that we should apply to Maharramli in connection with this problem,” Gazafaroglu said.
Price of the paid time for a second varies averagely between AZN 40 and AZN 99 depending on different times of a day at the private channels of Azerbaijan. /Trend/

The Azerbaijani opposition Taraggi party created an election headquarters to support the candidate from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP), Ilham Aliyev.
“We created an election headquarters in Ganja City and commenced wide election campaign,” Chingiz Damiroglu, Chairman of the Taraggi party, told Trend News on 19 September.
Over 10 years Taraggi had campaigned radical opposition activity. Since summer 2008, the party took constructive position.
Damiroglu explained non-participation in the meeting of the ruling party in Bibi Eybat stadium on 17 September that he had not been invited by NAP.
“If I would have been invited, me and members of our party would participated in the meeting with great pleasure,” said Damiroglu.
The new opened election headquarters in Ganja plans will carry out wide election campaign in support of Ilham Aliyev. /Trend/

No case has been fixed on participation of members of the opposition Musavat party in the election campaign of Igbal Agazade, presidential candidate from the Umid party.
“Our party agreed to boycott the elections. Naturally, if a member will participate in election campaign of any candidate, then his action will contradict Musavat’s policy,” Arif Hajili, Head of the Central Executive Administration of Musavat, told Trend News.
Earlier, Agazade stated that most members from Musavat would support his candidature in the
Hajili said that the corresponding measures will be taken in accordance with the Charter against the members, whose actions will contradict party’s policy. /Trend/

A court rejected an appeal of the Elections Monitoring Centre (EMC), whose registration was cancelled in Azerbaijan.
The Supreme Court recommended the EMC, which demanded to abolish decisions on immediate implementation of the judgment to cancel the registration, to hire a lawyer.
The Khatai District Court of Baku abolished registration of the EMC on 14 May in 2008.
The Central Department for Registration and Notary of the Justice Ministry appealed to the court on this matter.
Firstly, the EMC submitted necessary documents to the Justice Ministry for registration on 14 March in 2006.
The relevant department of the Ministry did not register documents on technical pretexts and the EMC’s apply for registration was rejected five times.
The EMC passed a state registration in February 2008.
The Ministry grounded its decision on cancellation of registration with indefiniteness of data about founders at the relevant documents. They did not inform the Ministry on change of legal address of the organization; the state registration did not receive data on its representations in eight regions of Azerbaijan.
Anar Mammadli, the co-founder of the organization, said that they applied to the Board of Lawyers to be supplied with a lawyer.
Although the Board of Lawyers gave a positive answer to appeal, a lawyer did not join the process held on 19 September. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal for this reason.
Mammadli said that they would re-apply to the Board of Lawyers with this purpose.
Under changes injected into the Procedural legislation, the side, who appeals to the Supreme Court on civil matters, should act in this instance with a lawyer. /Trend/