The Deputy Executive Secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, Mubariz Gurbanly, says a new opposition rally is doomed to failure.

“If the radical opposition attempts to stage another unsanctioned protest action on April 16, it will be strongly suppressed by relevant authorities, similarly to the previous one,” he stressed. “It will fail to achieve its goals by confronting the authorities.”

“The present-day opposition is already outdated. Their recent rallies proved they don’t have popular support. That is why the protest rally planned for April 16 is doomed to failure, too,” he remarked.

Commenting on the U.S. embassy’s call on the Azerbaijani government to allow the opposition to hold a rally, Gurbanly noted that rallies are not prohibited if they’re sanctioned by the city authorities, according to news.az.