Opposition in Baku Demands a Democratic Election Code

On Sunday the Musavat (Equality) party and the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan organised a manifestation of the opposition in Baku.

The people marched from 20th January metro station to the manifestation site in the square in front of the Galebe (Victory) cinema house. They demanded a democratic election code, free, fair and democratic presidential elections next autumn, the creation of equal conditions for all candidates, and the resignation of President Geidar Aliyev "in view of his inability to perform his constitutional duties."

The organisers say the march and the manifestation, which passed off calmly, rallied "tens of thousands" of people. But law enforcers say there were no more than a thousand people in the square and RIA correspondent pout the number at 2,000-3,000.

The Democratic Party and Musavat are part of the so-called Coordination Opposition Centre, which unites the basic right-wing parties of Azerbaijan.