Azerbaijani Free Democrats Party

Azerbaijani Free Democrats Party (Azad Demokratlar Partiyası) is a political party in Azerbaijan established in early 2014. Sülhəddin Əkbər, head of the Organizing Committee, was elected as the party's first chairman. The party positions itself as a liberal-democratic, center-right political force supporting individual freedoms, market economy principles, and Euro-Atlantic integration.

The Azerbaijani Free Democrats Party traces its beginnings to **December 2013**, when an **Organizing Committee** was established under the leadership of **Sülhəddin Əkbər** to prepare the formation of a new political party. During this early phase, the committee drafted the party's charter, platform, and ideological principles. On **5 January 2014**, the committee approved the name Azad Demokratlar Partiyası and determined delegate quotas for the founding congress. It also initiated the creation of regional founding conferences and divided tasks among its members for organizational work.^[2]

The party's **founding congress** was held shortly afterward, during which Sülhəddin Əkbər was elected chairman. The congress took place at the headquarters of the Civic Solidarity Party, while the new party temporarily based its operations at the offices of the Classical People's Front Party.^[1]

Following the congress, the Azerbaijani Free Democrats announced that they would soon submit their registration documents to the Ministry of Justice after completing the required paperwork. During its formation, the party described its program as focused on liberal democratic values, individual freedoms, human rights, and integration with Euro-Atlantic institutions. The leadership also expressed the intention to participate in both municipal and parliamentary elections, with priority placed on parliamentary representation.^[1]

Shortly after its establishment, the party confronted a potential issue involving its **abbreviation**, “ADP,” which is also used by the long-established **Azerbaijan Democratic Party**. Its chairman, Sərdar Cəlaloğlu, noted that Azerbaijan's law on political parties prohibits two political organizations from having the same name or abbreviation. He stated that for this reason, the Ministry of Justice might refuse to register the newly formed party under the abbreviation ADP.^[2]