Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

The recent pre-election poll of the influential U.S. polling firm Arthur J. Finkelstein & Associates has revealed that the Azerbaijani people are confident in their future and will support the current government.

The poll showed that the vast majority of voters believe that their nation is heading in the right direction under the present leadership, The Street reported, referring to the pre-election poll published on October 14

As much as 81.7 percent of respondents agreed that "Azerbaijan is an island of stability in a region where most countries are unstable". Also, asked “in general, how would you rate the job done by the current President Ilham Aliyev?”, 82.1 percent said either good or excellent, said the polling firm.

And these figures are based on the economic and social development, political stability achieved in the last 10 years in Azerbaijan, an oil-rich South Caucasus nation of over 9.6 million people.

Over the past 10 years, the current government has significantly improved the living standards of Azerbaijani citizens, and the country has developed rapidly.

Today, Azerbaijan is one of the world’s fastest growing economies and the government's development strategy is aimed not only at economic growth and political stability, but also increasing human capital and improving civil society.

Thanks to the reforms carried out over the past 10 years under the leadership of the incumbent President Aliyev, Azerbaijan has diversified its economy, social policy, oil strategy, GDP per capita, and improved the efficiency of allocation of budget revenues.

Today, Azerbaijan is modernizing its education, reforming its judiciary, infrastructure, and agriculture along with many other sectors of the economy.

Over the past 10 years, the GDP increased by 3.4 times, the non-oil sector by 2.6 times, budget revenues by 16 times, and the volume of strategic currency reserves exceeded $50 billion. More than one million new jobs have been created during Ilham Aliyev’s term as President. The rates of poverty and unemployment have also significantly reduced among all population cohorts, including the youth.

Today, the government continues to pursue a wise and purposeful foreign policy aimed at turning Azerbaijan into a leading country across the South Caucasus and regional power with global plans.

Further, 41.3 percent of voters chose Nagorno-Karabakh as one of the most important issues facing the voters. Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh, along with seven adjusted districts continues to be occupied by Armenia in defiance of international resolutions calling for an immediate withdrawal.

"Five times more respondents named Nagorno-Karabakh as the most important issue facing the nation than the economy," said George Birnbaum, Executive Director of Arthur J. Finkelstein & Associates. "It remains a highly emotive issue that pervades all aspects of politics and government in ways many observers in the West simply don't understand."

Despite the international community is remaining indifferent towards the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory, the Commander-in Chief, Ilham Aliyev has been able to decisively and purposefully introduce the aggressive stance of Armenian invaders.

The development of the military is under special focus in Azerbaijan, a country, whose twenty percent of internationally-recognized territory has been under Armenian occupation for over 20 years.

Today, the Azerbaijani Army is one of the strongest, most highly-disciplined armies in the world and the leading in the region. It is equipped with new high-quality weapons made by domestic and foreign military-industrial systems.

The survey also showed that the candidates of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party are favored by 74.4 percent of decided voters, with fourteen percent remaining undecided. This means that in the vast majority of constituencies, the ruling party's candidates are expected do very well.

Thus, the poll once again approves that the Azerbaijani voters want political and economic stability; they want to be kept safe from terror; and they want their elected representatives to keep fighting for the return of Nagorno-Karabakh, said Birnbaum.

The survey, which focuses on a wide range of issues affecting Azerbaijan’s 5.1 million voters, was conducted face to face with 1,000 registered voters in 108 constituencies around Azerbaijan between September 28 and October 9 with an aim to create a complete picture of the sentiments prevailing in the society on the eve of a significant event in the political life of the country - parliamentary elections scheduled for November 1.

The survey in fact mirrored the successful domestic and foreign policies pursued by Ilham Aliyev, and his government. Thus, the Azerbaijani people remain supportive to the political stability, prosperity and sustainable socio-economic development.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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