Pro-governmental Azerbaijan Democratic World Party will conduct a convention on 18 August. “We will nominate at the convention Azerbaijan’s current President Ilham Aliyev,” said Chairman of Azerbaijan Democratic World Party Mammad Alizade said to Trend News on 1 August.
Presidential elections will take place in Azerbaijan on 15 October.
Alizade said the convention would also consider a range of organizing issues.

A number of opposition parties will make a final decision in connection with the presidential elections tomorrow. APA reports that the supreme assemblies of Musavat, Democratic Party, Classical Popular Front Party and Great Establishment Party will hold a meeting.

Chairman of Musavat Party’s Assembly Sulheddin Ekber said that the meeting would start at 11.00 and would be open for media. Participation in the presidential elections will be considered at the meeting and election will be held for vacancies in the Assembly. Sulheddin Ekber said it would be a secret voting.

Association for Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan will observe all polling stations in the presidential elections on October 15. Maherram Zulfugarli, Head of Election Office of Association of Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan told APA that he had begun preparing observers and the process would soon be over. Zulfugarli said there were 4996 polling stations in Azerbaijan and they would send at least one observer to every polling station. The Head of Election Office noted that the observers would follow the results of the elections in accordance with the law. Besides, about 70 observers will come to Azerbaijan at the invitation of the association.

National Bank of Azerbaijan gave instructions to the country-based banks to cease cooperation with Western Union and MoneyGram money transfer systems.
APA reports quoting Interfax that the decision was made as Western Union and MoneyGram continued illegal operations in connection with money transfers to Nagorno Karabakh. The National Bank had called on both companies to stop illegal money transfers to Nagorno Karabakh before.

President of Poland will also participate in the 4th Energy Summit in Baku in November this year
Azerbaijan’s ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Poland Vilayat Guliyev interviewed by APA

-Foreign Minister of Poland called Azerbaijan one of the ten priority countries. This is perhaps in terms of energy security of Poland. And what does cooperation with Poland promises Azerbaijan?

-Azerbaijan is in the focus of attention of the European Union with its important geostrategic position, rich natural resources, leading position in the region and dynamic development. It is undeniable that Poland is one of EU members, which take especially great interest in our country. It was underlined several times that Azerbaijan-Poland relations rose to the stage of strategic partnership both on the level of president and foreign minister and political-economic relations with Azerbaijan were priority for Poland.

The Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations to regulate the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are based on the long-term efforts of both sides rather than on the proposals made by the mediators in Madrid, Edward Nalbandyan, Armenian Foreign Minister, said.
“The matter does not concern the Madrid proposals. If the matter concerned Madrid proposals we would not meet today,” Nalbandyan said in the briefing answering to the questions of Trend News and commenting the recent meeting with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

The European Union positively estimate continuation of negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia on settling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and support them. “We are glad to see the negotiations going on after a break,” EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby said at a press conference on 1 August dedicated to the results of his visit to Azerbaijan.
For peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 1992 about 10 OSCE countries established Minsk Group. Since 1997, Minks Group includes co-chairmen from three countries – USA, Russia, France.
Semneby said he supports operation of the OSCE Minsk Group.

EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby believes Azerbaijani Government must pay attention to legislative issues, as well as to the issues regarding media and freedom of assembly, within preparation for presidential elections to take place in Azerbaijan on 15 October. “Presidential elections are very important in terms of further development of the relations between Azerbaijan and EU,” Semneby said at a press conference on 1 August dedicated to the results of his visit to Azerbaijan.
Semneby said the key purpose of his visit to Azerbaijan was to discuss elections-related issues. According to him, elections are of great importance for every country, especially for such countries with young democracy as Azerbaijan.

Mammad Alizade, Chairman of the Azerbaijani Democratic World Party, told Trend News that a new bloc regarding the upcoming presidential elections was expected to be established in Azerbaijan. “The Reformist political parties bloc, that we have already strated forming, will announce its position and plans regrading the elections,” Alizade said.
The Reformist political party bloc was established during the parliamentary elections 2005. “Now, we are to expand bloc’s activity. The aim that the bloc’s activity was restored is to support the candidature of the incimbent President Ilham Aliyev. At present, four parties are represneted in the bloc – Democratic World of Azerbaijan, Free Republicans, Republicans ans Democratic Enlightnment. The Great Nation party is also expected to join the bloc. Other parties also want to join the bloc.

Azerbaijani prisoners lacking identity cards will temporarily receive documents to vote during presidential elections.
Preparation for presidential elections was commenced in all prisons, Head of PR Department at the Penitentiary Service of Azerbaijani Justice Ministry Mehman Sadikhov said to Trend News on 1 August.
Presidential elections will be held in Azerbaijan on 15 October. There are about 19,000 prisoners in Azerbaijan, with minors and expats amongst them.
Number of prisoners lacking identity cards will be specified by the day of elections.
As to conditions for prisoners and convicts to enjoy the right to vote and freedom of choice, Sadikhov said each of them would vote at their imprisonment place.