Azernews.Az

The Civil Unity Party (CUP) representing opposition in the Azerbaijani parliament has altered its policy and pledged to back the government's stance from now onward.
"We support the political course pursued by President Ilham Aliyev," its chairman, member of the Milli Majlis commission on legal policy and state building, Sabir Hajiyev, said Wednesday.
Hajiyev said the party has now relinquished its support for staunch opposition. "There is absolutely no prospect in acting as radical opposition, a policy of negating everything. The policy being pursued by the authorities meets the interests of the state and people."
Hajiyev added that the party plans to hold a congress in the summer where it will decide in which shape or form it will participate in the 2008 presidential elections.
The CUP took part in the 2005 parliament poll as an opposition party and had represented the opposition in electoral commissions prior to its latest decision.
The party was founded in 1999 under the leadership of former president Ayaz Mutallibov, who emigrated to Moscow in 1992. After the 2000 parliamentary election the party faced internal differences that led to its split into two wings - one supporting Mutallibov and the other one backing its secretary Igbal Agazada, who currently chairs the Umid (Hope) party.
In 2003 the former president decided to unite with the Social-Democratic Party of Azerbaijan (SDPA), but Sabir Hajiyev, who then acted as the CUP secretary, did not approve of the proposal and continues to head the party.