Aliyev has been President of Azerbaijan since 2003, and was re-elected in 2018 for the fourth time in a row (Getty)

Baku -

 Azerbaijan is preparing to hold early presidential elections next Wednesday, amid refusal by opposition parties and forces to participate, as it considers that it was unrealistic to campaign and collect 40,000 signatures in just one month, and that this should have been done before January 7. .

These elections are considered the first of their kind to take place in the country after the re-integration of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, following a lightning war launched by Azerbaijan against the Armenian forces there, in September of last year.

According to the head of the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan, Mazakhir Panakhov, “26 polling stations will be opened in the liberated areas, and up to 20,000 people will exercise their right to vote,” and according to him, these mean “not only those who have already returned to the territory, but also many engineers.” And construction workers who are participating in the restoration of the area.”

Peak popularity

Although the current term of the current Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev - which extends for 7 years - ends in April 2025, which is when the presidential elections were supposed to be held, he announced last December that early elections would be held, by the 7th. From this February.

The Central Elections Commission of the Republic registered the names of 7 candidates for the highest position in the state, and they are:

  • The current president, Ilham Aliyev, is from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party.

  • Zahid Urooj (Parliamentary).

  • Fuad Aliyev (Independent).

  • Razi Nurulayev from the National Front Party.

  • Fadil Mustafa from the “New Azerbaijan Party”.

  • Elshad Musayev from the "Greater Azerbaijan" party.

  • Gudrat Hasan Guliyev from the "Popular Front of Azerbaijan" party.

Aliyev has been president of Azerbaijan since 2003, and in April 2018 he was re-elected for the fourth time in a row, receiving 86.21% of the votes, while his closest competitor, non-partisan MP Zahid Oruj, received only 3.11%.

According to the Constitution of Azerbaijan, the President of the Republic is elected for a period of 7 years, on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage, with free, personal and secret voting. The President of the State is elected by a majority of half the votes, and if this majority is not achieved in the first round of voting, a second round is held in which two candidates participate. Just.

In September 2016, a referendum was held in Azerbaijan to introduce 6 new articles into the country’s constitution, and make 23 other amendments to the current articles. As a result of the referendum, the president’s term of office was increased from 5 to 7 years, and he was also given the power to dissolve “two millets” (Parliament). The country's unicameral body), and calling for early presidential elections, as a referendum had previously been held in the country before that in 2009, according to which restrictions imposed on the re-election of one person as president of the country more than twice were abolished.

Historical precedent

Nair Aliyev, a specialist in Azerbaijani affairs, believes that the decision to hold elections early is due to several considerations, the most important of which is “the importance of holding elections on all Azerbaijani lands, after the restoration of the Karabakh region, which is the first time in the country’s history after it regained its independence and territorial integrity.” The area that fell under (Armenian) occupation.

Aliyev explains in his speech to Al Jazeera Net that “holding early elections on this basis will constitute an event with historical and political symbolism, which is something that everyone in Azerbaijan is aware of, and considers it an important issue.” He adds to this the presence of what he describes as the technical dimension, “since the next elections, if they take place In 2025, it will compete with other elections and electoral campaigns, such as parliamentary elections and local council elections scheduled for the end of 2024.”

Aliyev concludes: “The current president is an undisputed candidate, and his victory is inevitable because he achieved a historic mission by restoring Karabakh to the arms of Azerbaijan, and the rest of the candidates realize this.”

Andrei Arichev, an expert on Caucasian affairs, also believes that “Aliyev’s decision to hold early presidential elections aims to confirm the legitimacy of the current government,” adding that “today the president has no serious competitors in Azerbaijan.”

The same expert continued, "The credit for the victory in the Karabakh war in 2020, and then Baku extending its full control over this region, goes to Aliyev personally, and that both events are historic for Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus, and therefore holding early elections is considered a good background and a good moment." "To strengthen Aliyev's authority and extend his presidential term for the next seven years."

According to the same spokesman, “The upcoming elections will constitute a referendum on support and trust in the first person, and after them, even the most ardent opponents in Azerbaijan will not be able to deny Aliyev’s role in assembling the state, and it will be impossible to oppose him in this context, and of course Aliyev is not ready to miss such an opportunity.” .

Source: Al Jazeera