AZE.US
Former Musavat deputy chairman Yadigar Sadigli has sharply criticized Isa Gambar’s return to the party leadership, accusing him of undermining the principle of political rotation inside the opposition party.
In a Facebook post, Sadigli recalled that on May 4, 2024, Gambar returned as chairman of Musavat after a 10-year break. He said he would not dwell on what Gambar had or had not achieved during the past two years, arguing that the deeper issue was different.
According to Sadigli, Gambar’s return damaged the very principle of term limits and leadership change.
He drew a direct contrast between Musavat’s democratic claims and its internal practice. Sadigli said that just as the authorities had discredited elections and parliamentarianism, Gambar had discredited the principle of term limits by returning to the post of party chairman.
Sadigli also referred to earlier comparisons between Gambar’s return and the “Putin-Medvedev-Putin” model in Russia, a reference to a political rotation seen by critics as preserving power while formally observing procedure.
According to Sadigli, when a journalist once mentioned that comparison to Gambar, the Musavat leader responded harshly, saying that those making such claims were wrong, using a rougher expression.
“Pity that party, pity that name,” Sadigli wrote.
The criticism is sensitive for Musavat because the party has long presented itself as a force advocating democratic standards, competitive politics and accountability. Sadigli’s argument is that opposition parties cannot demand political rotation from the authorities while treating the same principle casually inside their own ranks.
For Azerbaijan’s opposition scene, the dispute goes beyond one internal party argument. It raises a broader question: whether parties that criticize the ruling system are themselves ready to apply the standards of renewal and accountability they demand from those in power.
AZE.US