Azerbaijan dissolves parliament, calls for snap elections
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Azerbaijan has legislated an order for early elections to avoid polls coinciding with the COP29 climate conference later in the year.
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Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev attends the Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023. (AP)
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called for snap elections to take place in September, to avoid coinciding with the COP29 climate conference the country is hosting later this year.
On Friday, Aliyev decreed an order for the dissolution of the country's legislature, the Milli Majlis, following suggestions made by lawmakers calling for early elections, two months ahead of schedule, to avoid an overlap between polls and the international conference, which is running from November 11 to 22.
"Early elections of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan should be scheduled for September 1, 2024," the legislation stated.
The Milli Majlis is mainly dominated by Aliyev's Yeni Azerbaijan party, and elections are expected to extend his time in power.
Is Aliyev securing his sixth term?
In February, Aliyev was re-elected for a fifth term, an expected outcome following Azerbaijan winning the Nagorno-Karabakh region after its yearslong conflict with Armenia last year.
"The Azerbaijani people have elected Ilham Aliyev as the country's president," Central Election Commission chief Mazahir Panahov announced during a presser.
Panahov said that based on the tabulation of ballots from 93% of polling stations, Aliyev had secured the lead with 92.05% of the votes.
Following his win, Aliyev was paraded to his recaptured hometown, while his supporters cheered him as the "liberator of Karabakh" and held signs saying "We are proud of you!" in a gathering in central Baku.
However, the opposition scolded the elections as unjust and boycotted the vote. The opposition Popular Front party's leader Ali Kerimli slammed the elections as an "imitation of democracy", saying, "There are no conditions in the country for the conduct of free and fair elections."
