TREND NEWS (BAKU)—The United States government has allocated USD 3 million to support an open and democratic presidential election in Azerbaijan for October 2008. According to Anne E. Derse, US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, “The funds have been allocated not for any political parties or organizations, but to improve the situation in the sphere of freedom of speech and the election situation in the country.” Derse called upon all political parties in Azerbaijan to participate in the upcoming presidential elections. The ambassador hoped that a conflict among political parties over amendments in the Election Code could be solved before the election. Source: http://news.trendaz.com/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1189267&lang=EN
(Reliability: 7)
Analysis: The Popular Front, Liberal and Citizen and Development parties, united in the Azadlig bloc, stated that they would boycott the elections if the country could not resolve certain election commission issues. American involvement in the election is likely to trigger charges of fraud and protests from opposition Azerbaijani political parties. (Analytic Confidence: 5)
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