Azerbaijan’s president sweeps to new term, but election monitors have concerns about the restrictive vote
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev arrives for the European Political Community Summit at the Mimi Castle in Bulboaca, Moldova, Thursday, June 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
DATE OF ELECTION
Feb 7
TYPE OF ELECTION
Presidential
WHO’S RUNNING
President Ilham Aliyev, 62, easily won another seven-year term in a contest election monitors say was without real political opposition. Aliyev has been in power for more than 20 years. He had called an early vote while he was enjoying a surge in popularity after his forces swiftly reclaimed the Karabakh region from ethnic Armenian separatists. Ari Kerimli, leader of the opposition People’s Front of Azerbaijan Party, said calling for an early election without public debate shows authorities are afraid of political competition.
WHY IT MATTERS TO THE WORLD
Aliyev ordered officials in December 2023 to prepare for an early presidential election shortly after his government took control of the tumultous Karabakh region, reclaiming the area after a lightning military operation against ethnic Armenian forces. The election was originally scheduled for October 2025. Aliyev’s time in power has been marked by the introduction of increasingly strict laws that curb political debate, as well as arrests of opposition figures and independent journalists — including in the runup to the presidential election.
Azerbaijan’s two main opposition parties — Musavat and the People’s Front of Azerbaijan — did not take part in the vote
.
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