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Quick ID: The constituency is located in two mountainous districts of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR), the Azerbaijani exclave surrounded by Armenia, Turkey and Iran. The autonomous republic has been blockaded by Armenia from the early 1990s; residents must travel by plane to reach other Azerbaijani territories. The constituency's population suffers from a high rate of labor migration and a large number of voters who no longer live in Nakhchivan. The exclave is the home base for many senior politicians, including Azerbaijan's three presidents since independence in 1991 (Abulfaz Elchibey, Heydar Aliyev, Ilham Aliyev) as well as a number of government officials and opposition leaders. Political Profile: Nakhchivan has a unique system of government. The head of the republic's parliament is also the chief executive, and de facto runs the local government. The post has quite independent decision-making powers. Nakhchivan's ministries, for instance, are not accountable to Baku. The autonomous republic has also acquired a reputation for strong-arm rule. Attacks on political candidates and opposition activists, closure of political party offices, expulsion of foreign and local journalists, political arrests and other means of intimidation and pressure tactics have been reported in NAR; especially in the town of Sharur. YAP is the strongest local political party, with the full support of the government of Nakhchivan. The Democratic Party of Azerbaijan and Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan are also quite popular in the region, however. Smaller parties have never had a presence in the republic or only a weak one. In past Azerbaijani elections, independent observers have recorded a large number of falsifications in all Nakhchivan constituencies, with as much as 95 percent of voter activity often registered by noon on election day. Candidates at a Glance: Vasif Talibov, the ruler of Nakhchivan and speaker of the Nakhchivan Supreme Mejlis (parliament), is the favored candidate for this race. Talibov holds virtually unlimited power - a fact that makes the presence of alternative candidates surprising. Talibov has run Nakhchivan since Heydar Aliyev vacated the post in June 1993, and is married to the niece of the late Azerbaijani president. Namizad Safarov, the opposition Azadlig alliance's single candidate, is a defense attorney and a Nakhchivan native. In the past, Safarov defended opposition activists, including some involving relatives of the former parliamentary speaker Rasul Guliyev, the exiled leader of the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan who is also originally from Nakhchivan and quite popular there. Safarov is a member of the Lawyers Forum and Parliament 2005, a grassroots lawyers' association which also supports his candidacy. Safarov states that he expects to get the votes of Nakhchivan's protest electorate. Social and Economic Problems: Despite an official population of just 300, 000, Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic enjoys considerable budget subsidies. The blockaded exclave suffers from a lack of energy sources and an adequate communications network. Unemployement and labor migration to Baku, Iran and Turkey are the republic's largest social problems . Most of the population earns a living from trade with Iran and Turkey; the recently imposed visa regime with Iran has made their life more difficult. Sharur and Sadarak, two agricultural regions, suffer from water supply problems and difficulties with irrigation. The huge Vaikhir Water reservoir, now under construction at LOCATION, is expected to solve this problem, however. Media Access: Nakhchivan is largely closed to opposition media. No opposition papers are officially distributed in Nakhchivan, although some activists of the Democratic Popular Front and Musavat Parties provide a few copies. In the beginning of 2005, Sizin Nakhchivan, the only independent paper, with funding from the US media assistance organization Internews, stopped its activity. Two local TV stations, Channel 35 and Nakhchivan TV, both state run- companies, broadcast in NAR. For national channels, residents receive only the official state channel AzTV and Lider (Leader), a privately owned pro-government channel. Public television has not reached the exclave yet. Though satellite dishes are easy to acquire, Nakhchivan's poor population cannot afford to buy them. The rate of Internet access in the exclave is also very low. |
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