State employees in Sumgayit were brought to a meeting with presidential candidate Hafiz Hajiyev under the pretext of a work-related gathering, but those who gathered at the Nariman Narimanov Cultural Center on 3 April did not know who they had been brought here to meet with.
Hafiz Hajiyev’s representative Konul Ismayilova says that no one was forced to come to the meeting with the candidate. But during the 2013 presidential campaign, those who attended Hafiz Hajiyev’s campaign rallies ahead of the presidential election in 2013 also said that they were brought there by force.
Azerbaijan will hold an early presidential election on 11 April. Eight candidates are running. Opposition movements and political parties have decided to boycott the election and say that they will not recognize the results.