The 5th convocation of the National Assembly has kicked off. To this day, parliament and committee meeting have been held, chairmen of legislative body and committee, as well as their deputies have been elected and amendments to certain laws have been proposed. One of the deputies that form the new parliament is MP Elshad Hasanov who was elected from the N. 17 Yasamal III constituency. We met and talked to him about his election struggle, his joy of victory and his future plans.
- Elshad, this is the first time you have been elected a deputy and you have already participated in two parliamentary gatherings. What feelings are you experiencing as a deputy?
- To be a member of a supreme legislative body of our independent state, of course, fills me with pride. Regardless of the position they hold or power they have, it is every Azerbaijani's only purpose to strengthen our independence and to increase the power of our state. I felt very proud that I would be serving Azerbaijan as a deputy of the national assembly. I think, it has provided me with even more opportunities to serve my country.
- If we go look back a few months, when you started this journey, when you announced your candidacy, were you certain that you would win ?
- When you get involved in something as important as an election, you are considering all options. Of course, when you pay attention to people, your chance to win becomes clear both to you and to people who support you. I have participated in the election twice before. The reason I joined the election marathon was because I was confident that I would win. This time I was very sure. Because I had gained a great experience from previous elections, and also we had worked relentlessly in N.17 Yasamal District 17 Constituency in the past years. My devotion to this area doesn't only manifest itself during election period. That's why my voters were also certain of my victory.
- Other people had also announced their candidacy from 17 Yasamal III Constituency. In order to beat them and to get the votes of the voters, how did you organize your campaign?
As I said, my contact with the constituency was not limited to my campaigning during the election cycle. When we joined the process, our campaign team observed the existence of a certain electorate. But this reality did not make us certain. As an outrage strategy, we visited thousands of people and held mass meeting in the area. Our outreach and campaign was mainly in the area. Why do I specifically note the area? Because some candidates assume that you can only campaign on social networks or via press. It is true that we also utilized social network and press resources. But most of our work was concentrated on boundaries of constituency.
- Who did you consider to be your main opponent among the people who were candidates from your constituency?
- I am not a fan of dividing my opponent into weak and strong categories. If have joined the race, you have to regard all your opponents seriously. This is one of the reasons behind our success: to take our opponents seriously and to have a healthy competition.
- You mentioned that you have held meeting with voters. It is interesting, when you met with them, what promises did you make and what issues did you promise to resolve? In general, what issue concern your voters the most?
- In our meetings, I told my voters that I wouldn't make any promises. Making election pledges and not delivering them is a thing of the past. I told the voters that I would be with them and try to solve their problem together with them. They mainly complained about problems in Yasamal. You know that the main focus is on the reconstruction that is being carried out in the are called "Sovetski". During the campaign and now, the main complaints are about this particular issue. I listen to every complaint attentively and try to solve them within the opportunities our governments have provided for us. Our citizens call us to support the policies of our president Ilham Aliyev. I still get such requests from my voters to this day.
- How do you evaluate the voting process in general ?
Election process was fair, transparent and legal. The stronger candidates that were able to gain the trust of the voters won. Every care was taken to ensure that the elections reflected the will of the voters.
- What are your plans for the next 5 years?
- In 5 years, I will try to prove to my voters that they were right to trust me. I believe that I will be able to prove that they were not wrong in their choice. There is no doubt that the main duty of a deputy is to contribute to the improvement
of legislation. As a lawyer, I'm sure I will be an asset to our state and people.
- Some western powers, as well as the radical opposition in Azerbaijan, tries to cast a shadow on the result of the elections and they have released a statement for this purpose. Even though the election ended more than a month ago, these people still repeat their old ideas. What do you think about that?
- The elections reflected the will of Azerbaijani people. We're not saying this, the tens of thousands of local and international observers are saying this. Their final opinion is that the elections met the highest international standards. Azerbaijani people expressed their will freely in this elections. Unfortunately, Azerbaijan's every successful step towards democracy causes negative reactions in certain circles. Those circles cannot be happy with our state's achievements because strong Azerbaijan is not in their interest. Azerbaijan is devoted to democracy and every step we take, every election proves this time and time again. Therefore, the slanderous campaigns of certain foreign groups against Azerbaijan is not important.
Rufik İSMAYILOV
