“A new era must also have a new constitution”
Gudrat Hasanguliyev, MP, Deputy Chairman of the Legal Policy and State Building Committee of the Milli Majlis, Chairman of the BAZCP, gave an extensive interview to “Yeni Musavat”.
Publika.az presents that interview:
– Mr. Gudrat, you have been making suggestions about the necessity of judicial reforms for years. Some of your speeches were devoted to this topic during the propaganda and agitation period of the presidential election. Today, the President appointed a new Minister of Justice. How do you know, can it be said that the reforms in this area have been started?
– Farid Ahmadov also worked in the Office of the Milli Majlis. When we get acquainted with his biography, we see that he graduated from quite prestigious universities, has a Ph.D. degree, worked in various positions, is 45 years old and young. I hope that he will have the qualities of initiative and courage inherent in politicians and will push for judicial and legal reforms and actively participate in the preparation of the government’s state-building and legal policy. If he sees his activity only in the execution of the tasks of his superiors, there will be no serious consequences. I have said from time to time that unless a strong judiciary is established in the country, we will not be able to develop the economy. Selling natural resources and living off their money is an ultimately unsuccessful policy. From that point of view, the government should give up control over the economy and build a market economy that does not depend on oil. A favorable business environment should be created to attract foreign investments to the country. Local entrepreneurs should not hesitate to invest, expand their business, and capital should not flow abroad. Entrepreneurs should spend their money not on buying property that does not add value abroad, but on expanding their business here, so that jobs are created, those businesses pay taxes, and the standard of living of citizens increases. This cannot be achieved without guaranteeing the inviolability of property. For this, judicial reforms must be carried out and the rule of law must be ensured. Without doing this, expecting rapid economic development is nothing but an illusion. Unfortunately, our personnel are not selected from among ambitious people who have joined political parties, and from among people formed in political processes. The bureaucratic apparatus seems to have become an independent political force and personnel are selected from within the bureaucratic apparatus or invited from business structures. By the way, this also does not stimulate the development of a multi-party system. In any case, according to people who know Farid Ahmadov closely, he is an extremely cultured person and knows his field very well. Over time, we will see if one staff has been replaced by another, or if the new staff is really trying to do something in a good way. I hope that he will not be one of those who put down the lamb in his arms and embrace the wolves.
– We listened to your position in the debates in the parliament regarding the reorganization of the government. During the election period, you had quite critical approaches. The head of state said that the speeches of the candidates will be treated sensitively at the swearing-in ceremony. As announced by the President, what are your expectations from the new period starting on February 7?
– I also asked the prime minister what do you mean by the new era? Journalists also write, the public is also interested in what the new era will contain, what the government predicts, what changes will happen? If we say a new era, then there must be something new. But to be honest, for now I don’t know what the government wants to do in the new era. We have a clear program, how we see the future of the country and what steps to take, where to start, and what needs to be done in which area. I can’t say the same about power. For example, they note that they will develop the non-oil sector. But how do they want to develop the non-oil sector?
– There are state programs…
– There are state programs. But those programs do not envisage the waiver of privileges or fundamental changes.
– In any case, the government will have a report before the parliament in March. There is an opportunity to clarify these issues…
– Yes, there will be a government report. There is a path taken by developed nations in the world. We don’t need to look for a new way. Privatization should be carried out, monopolies should be ended, a competitive environment should be created, and transparency should be ensured in public procurement. Law enforcement agencies should be prohibited from approaching entrepreneurs. A State Investigative Committee should be established, criminal cases should be initiated only by that committee based on the investigations of the tax service for crimes in the economic field. The government should say what steps should be taken to attract foreign investment? What are these steps? There should be specific proposals regarding all these. For example, what should we do to achieve development in education, how will we eliminate tutoring in the country? Or how will we develop healthcare? For example, why is the price of food products in Azerbaijan at least three times higher than in a city like Moscow? What steps does the government plan to take to lower prices? There are so many questions that need to be clarified.
– Mr. Gudrat, what do you expect from the coming months: referendum, parliamentary elections? It is known that municipal elections will be held… What is your information?
– According to the constitution, parliamentary elections should be held in November. This is a matter that no longer depends on you or me, it is a requirement of the constitution that elections should be held in November. Also in November is the event of COP29, which is an international event. Therefore, elections can be postponed, the legislation does not prohibit it. We cannot delay the elections, for that there must be a state of emergency in the country. But in other cases, it is possible to postpone the elections. Therefore, I think that the elections should be held by November. But the power will make the final decision, so I can’t say a word. Municipal elections should also be held in December, I hope they will be held in time.
– But how, is it possible to go to the referendum, constitutional reforms that can ensure the transition to a new stage in the direction of ending the issues related to the ending of the controversial situation between the administration, special representations of the President, municipal-executive structures in the country?
– I said during the election that the constitution adopted in 1995 was actually a transitional constitution. If the President says that we are entering a new era, a new constitution of the new era must be adopted. I would very much like to see radical reforms in this constitution. Regarding public administration… For example, let’s move to a parliamentary republic, because according to the Constitutional Act on Independence, we are the successors of the Azerbaijan People’s Republic, which was also a parliamentary republic. Secondly, democracy spread to the world from Western Europe, and all of them had parliamentary republics. The role of the Parliament should be increased. The election of the person at the head of the executive power to the parliament is necessary and important so that it is possible to change him when necessary, and not to go to the next elections. Look, let’s say that Boris Johnson resigned in Britain, the parliament elected a new prime minister. Secondly, the head of the executive power is accountable to the parliament, regularly makes speeches in the parliament and informs the deputies. Let’s be clear, this does not happen in presidential republics. Therefore, I consider it necessary for Azerbaijan to become a parliamentary republic. Considering the fact that we are from the East, bearers of the Eastern mentality, and are a Muslim country, if we want to develop democracy in such a country, we must move to a parliamentary republic. At that time, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk bequeathed the parliamentary republic model to Turkey. It is true that now, during Erdogan’s era, it has been changed to a presidential republic. But I am sure that after some time Turkey will return to the parliamentary republic model, and the opposition wants it too.
– How do you know, taking into account the increase in the number of the population in our country, can the number of members of the Milli Majlis be increased?
– According to the population, the number of deputies can be increased to 151 people. I think that this number is normal for Azerbaijan. Also, the proportional electoral system can be restored so that there are factions in the parliament.
– But there is no time for all this, right?
– No, why? There is enough time. Let’s say that if a referendum is announced after about a month, the referendum will be held within two months, and parliamentary elections will be held in September-October. In other words, there is no problem of time, only the will of the authorities is needed here. But if we are going to adopt a new constitution, of course, a new constitutional commission should be created for this. That commission should work on the draft of the new constitution, and then the document should be put out for public discussion. It should be discussed in the parliament after it is brought to the public discussion. We have seen before that the issue put to the referendum regarding the constitutional amendment was never discussed in the parliament. From that point of view, I also say that the role of the parliament should be increased. In that sense, it will take some time with regard to the constitution. If we want to implement it in a democratic way, it should go through extensive public discussions, public organizations should join these discussions, the scientific community should participate in these processes, our scientists should make speeches and write articles. That is, there should be extensive discussions about the constitution. If it is really a question of new constitutional changes in a democratic manner, it will take some time. No, according to previous experiences, the public wakes up, sees the new project in the press, and there is an order of the President about the referendum, that’s another matter. Let’s see which way will be chosen…
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