13 October 2003, 19:58
Election program of Azerbaijan presidential contender Lala Shovket holds ultimatum to Armenia
Armenia is an only county of the CIS that has not sent its observers to the presidential elections in Azerbaijan coming on October 15. Khachatur Bezirdjyan, former chairman of the Armenian Central Election Commission and today's presidential aide for issues of the Civil Service Council, told about it while taking part in the seminar "Elections in Countries of the South Caucasus in 2003 and Their Effect on Regional Processes", which has finished today in the Armenian resort of Tsakhkadzor.
Bezirdjyan mentioned Lala Shovket among the most radical Azerbaijan presidential contenders, particularly, in the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. According to his words, Shovket's election program holds the ultimatum to Armenia: either it withdraws troops from the "occupied territories" within 12 months, or the threat of starting military operations exists.
An election program of the other presidential contender Azerbaijan Prime Minister Ilykham Aliyev, according to Bezirdjyan, is based on the continuity of his father's (Geydar Aliyev's) line and does not provide for such ultimatums. Ilykham Aliyev offers more civilized ways of how to settle the conflict.
Khachatur Bezirdjyan also produced last ratings of the candidates for the higher post of Azerbaijan. According to his words, Ilykham Aliyev can expect 58% of the vote for the moment, Isa Gambar - 22%, Lala Shovket - 8.3%, and Etibar Mamedov - 7.8%. The ratings of the other four candidates are rather low.
