Azerbaijan's Presidential Election: A Political Overview

Azerbaijan faces many challenges in the face of its upcoming presidential election on October 15^th 2008. The purpose of this website will be to keep a track of the news and politics surrounding the election as it unfolds over the next month and then track the subsequent implications of the results that follow.

Brief History:

Azerbaijan’s presidential republic was established with a written constitution on November 12^th, 2005. The political system consists of three-branches, executive, legislative and judicial. In theory these branches are to function autonomously and provide for a clear separation of powers. However it is to be noted that one party is in-charge of both the legislature and the executive for over a decade now. This has led some to believe that true political competition does not exist in Azerbaijan. The Legislative is made up of The National Assembly or Milli Maclis, a unicameral legislature. The executive branch consists of an elected president that carries out the executive powers and a prime minister who is assigned and has far less influence on policy-making.

Elections:

On a national level Azerbaijan elects a head of state which is the president and a legislature. Legislative elections are held in November every five years. Before 2005, 100 members of the National Assembly were elected through single-seat constituencies and 25 members were elected by proportional representation. Since then all 125 members are elected in single-seat constituencies. The president is elected by the people and also serves a five year term. This system of voting lends itself to creating a one party dominant state in Azerbaijan. The party in-charge of both the legislature and the executive is the New Azerbaijan Party, with the current head of state, and incumbent for the upcoming election, Ilham Aliyev. Outside parties are allowed but when they come into opposition with the reigning party they are politically suppressed and undermined.

Opposition:

The October 2003 presidential elections provided a clear picture of the frustration that opposition leaders are having in trying to find a political voice in Azerbaijan. As was expected in this election, Ilham Aliyev, the son of the outgoing president, Heydar Aliyev, was elected to office without any hope for opposition. International observers held that the election was by no means free or fair. In recent years an opposition has started to brew in Azerbaijan, most notable the Azadlig Coalition composing of three opposition parties: Musavat Party, Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, Azerbaijan Democratic Party. The coalition managed to win some seats in the 2005 legislative elections but recent amendments by the National Assembly threaten to divide the coalition. Parts of the Azadlig Coalition have threatened to boycott the election because they feel the recent amendments are once again to silence the opposition. So the questions remain, will there be an opposition that stands against incumbent Aliyev in the upcoming election? And even if someone does stand-up, do recent rule changes threaten any hope of a successful opposition? Is the one-party system here to stay? These are questions that will continue to be explored in future posts.