AZERIS SATISFIED WITH COUNTRY’S SITUATION
Angus Reid Global Monitor, Canada
Source: IFES / USAid Methodology: Interviews with 1,400 Azerbaijani adults, conducted from Nov. 17 to Dec. 20, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
July 24 2007
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Comparing to 2005, more people in
Azerbaijan are content with the general state of affairs in their
country, according to a poll by IFES and USAid. 52 per cent of
respondents are satisfied with the general situation in the former
Soviet republic, up nine points since the last survey.
In October 2003, Ilham Aliyev-the son of Azeri head of state Haidar
Aliyev-was elected with 77.97 per cent of all cast ballots. The
presidential election was criticized by international monitors.
Azerbaijan held a parliamentary ballot in November 2005. Official
reports gave the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) 58 of the 119
decided National Assembly seats. Only six candidates from the
opposition Azadliq (Freedom) alliance were elected.
The Nagorno-Karabakh region is controlled by ethnic Armenians-who
consider the area an independent republic-but is claimed by Azerbaijan
as part of its territory. A war broke out in the early 1990s between
both nations, ending in an unofficial truce negotiated by Russia
in 1994.
In mid July, senior North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
officials expressed concerns over the Azeri government’s recent
increase of its military budget, fearing it could lead to a new
conflict with Armenia. Robert Simmons, NATO secretary general’s
special representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia,
declared after a visit to Azerbaijan: "NATO is worried about the mass
arming in the zone of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan
and Armenia have exceeded the arms limits set in the Conventional
Forces in Europe Treaty."
Polling Data
Could you tell me if you are satisfied or dissatisfied with the
overall situation in Azerbaijan today?
2006 2005 2004
Satisfied 52% 43% 50%
Dissatisfied 44% 55% 47%
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
