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President: "Parliamentary elections once again expressed the will of our people"

17 April 2020 16:30 (UTC +04:00)

"The parliamentary elections held in February this year have been a logical continuation of these reforms. The parliamentary elections once again expressed the will of our people, showed again that the citizens of Azerbaijan approve and support our policy. Parliamentary elections are yet another step towards democratic development. After the elections, the composition of the parliament was changed significantly and its governing bodies completely. For the first time in history, an opposition representative was elected to the post of deputy chairman of the Milli Majlis. I believe that this is an important step aimed at improving the political system and building political relations on a sound footing," President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said at a meeting on the socio-economic results of the first quarter of 2020 through videoconference, on April 14, APA reports.

The Head of State said at the same time, for the first time in history, representatives of the opposition are leading parliamentary committees – in the positions of both chairman and deputy chairman: "I believe that this is also a very important step as it, first of all, opens the way for a new configuration of the political system. At the same time, it will have a positive impact on the processes taking place in the Milli Majlis. In the current conditions, we clearly see that for the vast majority of political forces the principles of statehood are above all, and this is our main goal. Our goal is to create a political system in which one idea remains sacred for all political forces regardless of their views – statehood, independence, freedom, prosperity and development. Under such circumstances, things on the political plane will go in a positive direction and problems existing in the country will be resolved faster because opposition representatives sometimes see miscalculations that the authorities don’t, talk about them, bring them to attention, and this is a very positive phenomenon. But at the same time, I want to say again that one thing should remain untouched for all political forces – our independence, statehood and state interests.

I believe that the steps taken by the authorities, the beginning of political dialogue and the positive reaction of the opposition parties to this have led to the emergence of a completely new situation during the period of independence. Never before has there been such a positive picture in the period of independence.

Of course, perhaps I am somewhat ahead of the curve because this process is only beginning. But I am ahead probably because I want this process to go quickly. I am glad that all opposition parties have responded positively to our proposal for dialogue and the political dialogue is already beginning. I am sure that this will bring great benefits to our country."