Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani government has stated a neutral stance on the recent presidential election in neighboring Georgia that was won by former president Mikheil Saakashvili.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibrahim has told Radio Liberty that "the elections were Georgia's internal affair".
"Azerbaijan would like to see Georgia stable, and we would like for all processes to proceed in peace and within the frame of the law," he said.
The elections in the South Caucasus republic were held on Saturday. The poll followed President Saakashvili's resignation after the dispersal of public demonstrations that some analysts said tarnished the former Georgian leader's image of a democrat and reformer.
Ibrahim said Baku saw no factors pertaining to the poll capable of undermining its relations with Tbilisi. "One of the important factors is that Azerbaijan and Georgia are strategic partners, and we are closely cooperating in various fields, including politics, economics and energy. Our nations are enjoying friendly relations. We will make every effort to avert a threat to our ties and work to further develop them."
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has congratulated Mikheil Saakashvili on his re-election. Aliyev indicated that the two South Caucasus republics have been historically linked by friendship, good neighborhood relations and mutual support, which forms a sound basis for current inter-governmental relations and strategic partnership. The head of state also expressed confidence that Azeri-Georgian cooperation would promote regional stability and development.
The conduct of the poll drew conflicting responses from international observers. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the vote was unfair, charging that Saakashvili "capitalized on his administrative resources while on the campaign trail to put pressure on opposition leaders".
But OSCE observers argued that despite some irregularities, the election was generally free and fair. The poll "was a triumphal step toward democracy", they said.
According to preliminary results, Saakashvili gained 52.2% of the popular vote -- enough to swing the election in the primaries.
Levan Gachechiladze, the opposition's single candidate, received 25.2% of the votes. Georgian opposition parties labeled the poll as rigged and demanded to hold a second stage of the elections.
Most of Azerbaijan's opposition parties positively assessed Georgia's election, with some saying that both the authorities and opposition should learn their lessons from its conduct.
"The conclusion that should be made by the Azerbaijani authorities is the democratic conditions provided during the polling," said chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) Ali Karimli. "As for the opposition, it should make not one, but several conclusions. First of all, we should strive to achieve unity of the opposition at this year's presidential election in Azerbaijan and to prevent a divide in votes."
Karimli said that although the Georgian opposition camp unites nine local parties, other opposition hopefuls' running for the election independently caused a split in the votes, which should be prevented at the Azeri election due this fall.
The party leader said another conclusion to be made by the opposition concerned close cooperation with international groups.
"Although the Georgian opposition maintains that the election was marred by major falsifications, international organizations are saying just the opposite. The opposition is either blowing the matter out of proportion or failing to state its case to the international community."
The leader of Musavat party Isa Gambar said Georgia's new democracy "was going through a challenging test" but did not agree that the latest elections should serve as a lesson. "In the presence of the authorities' political will, Azerbaijan has even greater opportunities to hold a democratic vote."
Deputy executive secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) Mubariz Gurbanli pointed to the divergent feedback on Georgia's poll. He stressed that the differences of opinion between the OSCE observation mission and CIS monitors indicated tensions that ran high during the elections. "Saakashvili's victory did not come easy," he added.
Gurbanli added that tensions in Georgia have not subsided yet and some stand-off was still in the offing.
Political analyst Rasim Musabayov told AssA-Irada that Georgia's election could be considered satisfactory for Azerbaijan. He said the outcomes of the poll have been accepted by the world community. The OSCE observation mission and the US State Department have confirmed that no major irregularities were observed during the polling.
"But first and foremost, stability was not disrupted in the neighboring country during the election campaign. This is of great importance for us, as Georgia is involved in the highly profitable regional projects that Azerbaijan is participating in. Instability in this country could cause problems for these projects. From this standpoint, Azerbaijan has always been interested in the maintenance of stability in Georgia."
Musabayov said it was indicative that Georgians cast votes for NATO admission during a referendum that took place amid the elections, describing this as Russia's losing its struggle with the West for the clout over the Western-leaning former Soviet republic.