Azerbaijan.US
AG Party leader Tural Abbasli has sharply criticized members of Azerbaijan’s parliament, arguing that many MPs are disconnected from voters and ineffective in solving even the most basic community problems.
Speaking in a public discussion, Abbasli cited what he described as a telling example: a situation in which a deputy was unable to secure the construction of a simple public toilet for constituents in his electoral district, despite repeated appeals and the formal authority of his office.
According to Abbasli, such cases highlight a broader systemic problem. He said many MPs rarely engage in open debate, seldom appear on live television, and avoid direct discussion of controversial or socially sensitive issues.
“Public activity is reduced to prepared statements and formal interviews that later appear across dozens of websites,” Abbasli said, adding that these texts often seem designed more for internal reporting than for genuine communication with society.
He also criticized what he described as the absence of meaningful engagement on key social topics, including pensions, child benefits, employment, healthcare, and education – issues that, in his view, directly affect public trust in state institutions.
Abbasli further pointed to the lack of independent and transparent public opinion surveys, arguing that without reliable data on citizens’ satisfaction levels, policymaking risks becoming detached from social reality.
Referring to employment figures, he noted that tens of thousands of university graduates remain unemployed or earn salaries below subsistence levels, raising questions about the effectiveness of existing socio-economic policies.
According to Abbasli, parliament as an institution risks losing relevance if representation is replaced by formal compliance and reporting. “Without open dialogue and accountability,” he said, “the gap between elected officials and society will only widen.”
