Why is there a lack of political activity ahead of municipal elections? Abzas Media has discussed this issue with opposition members and independent experts.

Municipal elections are set to take place in Azerbaijan on January 29, 2025. However, since the announcement of the elections, there has been no noticeable political activity in this regard.

Politicians say that since municipalities and municipal elections have not brought any changes to the country's life, they have no serious expectations. So, how will the elections be represented, and by whom? "Abzas Media" discussed this issue with representatives of the main opposition political forces and an independent election expert.

Former MP and professor, Jamil Hasanli, believes that municipalities in Azerbaijan are structured in such a way that this institution has no impact on the country's life. According to the politician, municipalities function as extensions of district executive authorities and are subordinate to them.

"A government truly becomes a government when it has authority. To turn municipalities into functioning bodies, part of the powers of the executive authorities must be transferred to them. Merging municipalities to make them larger does not solve the issue. Their powers need to be expanded. Without authority, it does not matter whether they are large or small—they will not accomplish anything. In simple terms, municipalities in this country are practically stillborn institutions. They serve no purpose and solve no problems. Once, I looked into their primary activities, and it turns out that one of their main tasks in Baku is numbering graves in cemeteries.

No election held in Azerbaijan reflects the will of the people. The electoral institution in the country has been dismantled. Since elections do not exist, there is effectively no legitimate government in Azerbaijan based on the people's will, including the municipalities," stated Jamil Hasanli.

Gulagha Aslanli, the deputy chairman of the Musavat Party, says that they have no expectations from the elections. Therefore, the decision regarding the elections has mainly been left to the responsibility of the regional organizations.

"As there are members of our regional organizations who want to participate in the elections, we have made a decision to delegate the authority to nominate candidates to the regional organizations. Fourteen regional organizations have informed us that they wish to participate in the elections. We can provide more detailed information after the internal party meeting. If necessary, the party will also support the campaigns of the Musavat candidates."

The Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AXCP), Seymur Hazi, says that the most serious problem of municipalities in Azerbaijan is the lack of authority as a governing body.

According to him, under the current legislation, municipalities effectively function as a branch of the executive authorities.

"In other words, municipalities have not been able to become the empowered representatives of communities. The legislation stipulates that municipalities are responsible for tasks that do not fall under the authority of the executive authorities. However, the executive authorities themselves have almost unlimited powers, leaving municipalities with only minor responsibilities.

The Azerbaijan Popular Front Party believes that genuine elections are still not taking place in Azerbaijan. They are entirely undemocratic, lacking transparency, and the pre-election environment is extremely poor. A new wave of repression began immediately after the elections were announced. In the context of the arrests and trials of individuals of significance to society, the public does not take these elections seriously," the politician emphasized.

Election expert Mammad Mammadzada states that in 1999, the number of municipalities was close to 3,000. However, due to the merging of municipalities three times in 2014, 2019, and 2024, this number has been reduced to 700.

"I believe that for effectiveness, the number of municipalities should be further reduced. However, the main issue here is not the number, but the powers of the municipalities. Any reforms carried out without granting powers to the municipalities should be regarded as merely cosmetic. In other words, the municipal institution is not considered a part of the state administration.

Our research indicates that there is almost no interest in municipal elections. As a result, these elections are likely to be purely formal. For municipal elections to generate genuine interest and be effective, the status of municipalities must be clearly defined, funding issues must be addressed, and citizens should be able to directly elect the head of the municipality, rather than just a member," the election expert stated.