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The Politics of Azerbaijan take place in a framework of a presidential republic, with the President of Azerbaijan as the head of state, and the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan as head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The Judiciary is nominally independent of the executive and the legislature.
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Azerbaijan declared its independence from the former Soviet Union on August 30, 1991, with Ayaz Mutalibov, former First Secretary of the Azerbaijani Communist Party, becoming the country's first President. Following a massacre of Azerbaijanis at Khojali in Nagorno-Karabakh in March 1992, Mutalibov resigned and the country experienced a period of political instability. The old guard returned Mutalibov to power in May 1992, but less than a week later his efforts to suspend scheduled presidential elections and ban all political activity prompted the opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (PFP) to organize a resistance movement and take power. Among its reforms, the PFP dissolved the predominantly Communist Supreme Soviet and transferred its functions to the 50-member upper house of the legislature, the National Council.
Elections in June 1992 resulted in the selection of PFP leader Abulfaz Elchibey as the country's second president. The PFP-dominated government, however, proved incapable of either credibly prosecuting the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict or managing the economy, and many PFP officials came to be perceived as corrupt and incompetent. Growing discontent culminated in June 1993 in an armed insurrection in Ganja, Azerbaijan's second-largest city. As the rebels advanced virtually unopposed on Baky, President Elchibey fled to his native province of Nakhchivan.
The National Council conferred presidential powers upon its new speaker, Heydar Aliyev, former First Secretary of the Azerbaijani Communist Party (1969–81) and later a member of the U.S.S.R. Politburo, the KGB, and USSR Deputy Prime Minister (until 1987). Elchibey was formally deposed by a national referendum in August 1993, and Aliyev was elected to a 5-year term as President in October with only token opposition. Aliyev won re-election to another 5-year term in 1998, in an election marred by serious irregularities.
The Speaker of Parliament stood next in line to the President, but the constitution was changed at the end of 2002: now the premier is next in line. This was done to make it possible for the son of the 80-year old Heydar, İlham Aliyev to succeed his father, who was admitted to a Turkish hospital on July 8, 2003 because of heart problems. In August 2003, İlham Aliyev was appointed as premier, though Artur Rasizade, who had been prime minister since 1996, continued to fulfill the duties of that office so that İlham could concentrate on his presidential election bid. In the October 2003 presidential elections, İlham Aliyev was announced winner while international observers reported several irregularities. He was sworn in as president at the end of the month, and Rasizade became premier again.
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | İlham Aliyev | New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) | October 15, 2003 |
| Prime Minister | Artur Rasizade | New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) | October 15, 2003 |
The head of state and head of government are separate from the country’s law-making body. President is the head of the state and head of executive branch. The people elect the president; the prime minister is appointed by the President and confirmed by the National Assembly of Azerbaijan. The President appoints all cabinet-level government administrators (ministers, heads of other central executive bodies).
Since 2008, the Constitution of Azerbaijan was amended, abolishing any term limit for the office of President.[1]
The National Assembly of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Milli Məclis) is the legislative branch of government in Azerbaijan. The unicameral National Assembly has 125 deputies: previously 100 members were elected for five-year terms in single-seat constituencies and 25 were members elected by proportional representation; as of the latest election, however, all 125 deputies are returned from single-member constituencies. The assembly is headed by the Speaker of Milli Majlis assisted by the First Deputy Speaker and two deputy speakers. Ogtay Asadov is the current speaker of the assembly, Ziyafet Asgarov is the First Deputy Speaker and, Bahar Muradova and Valeh Alasgarov are deputy speakers.[2]
Azerbaijan is considered a one party dominant state. Opposition parties against the New Azerbaijan Party are allowed, but are widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power.
In the 2010 parliamentary elections, the ruling New Azerbaijan Party strengthened its grasp on the legislative. President Ilham Aliyev's ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party got a majority of 73 out of 125 seats.[3] The other seats went to nominally independent, government-leaning candidates, and to "soft opposition" parties. The two major opposition parties (Musavat and the Parties of the People’s Front of Azerbaijan) lost their previous 8 seats, thus resulting in an opposition-free Parliament.[1][4]
The Central Election Commission said turnout was 50.1 %, out of a total 4.9 million people eligible to vote. Opposition leaders suggested the low turnout was due to candidate disqualifications by the CEC, and consequent discouragements to vote after their choice of candidate was excluded.[5]
The United States declared that the elections "did not meet international standards",[1] while the OSCE, EU and Council of Europe highlighted some positive aspects, while stating that "the conduct of the elections did not represent significant progress in the process of the country’s democratic development".[1]
| Candidates and nominating parties | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| İlham Aliyev — New Azerbaijan Party (Yeni Azərbaycan Partiyası) | 2,438,787 | 76.8 |
| İsa Qambar — Equality Party (Müsavat Partiyası) | 372,385 | 14.0 |
| Lalə Şövket Hacıyeva — National Unity (Milli Birlik) | 100,558 | 3.6 |
| Etibar Mammadov — Azerbaijan National Independence Party (Azərbaycan Milli İstiqlal Partiyası) | 62,401 | 2.9 |
| İlyas İsmayılov — Justice Party (Ədalət Partiyası) | 24,926 | 1.0 |
| Sabir Rüstamxanlı — Civic Solidarity Party (Vətəndaş Həmrəyliyi Partiyası) | 23,730 | 0.8 |
| Qüdrat Hasanquliyev — Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (Azərbaycan Xalq Cəbhəsi Partiyası) | 13,624 | 0.5 |
| Hafiz Hajiyev — Modern Equality Party (Müasir Müsavat Partiyası) | 9,990 | 0.3 |
| Total (turnout 71.5 %) | 3,046,401 | |
| Source: Central Election Commission | ||
After the presidential elections of October 15, 2003, an official release of the Central Election Committee (CEC) gave Isa Gambar — leader of the largest opposition bloc, Bizim Azerbaycan ("Our Azerbaijan") — 14% percent of the electorate and the second place in election. Third, with 3.6%, came Lala Shevket, leader of the National Unity Movement, the first woman to run in presidential election in Azerbaijan. Nevertheless, the OSCE,[6] the Council of Europe, Human Rights Watch[7] and other international organizations, as well as local independent political and NGOs voiced concern about observed vote rigging and a badly flawed counting process.
Several independent local and international organizations that had been observing and monitoring the election directly or indirectly declared Isa Gambar winner in the October 15 election. Another view shared by many international organisations is that in reality a second round of voting should have taken place between the two opposition candidates Isa Gambar and Lala Shevket.
In addition to criticism by Human Rights Watch, several Azerbaijani journalists, including Eynulla Fatullayev and Elmar Huseynov, have been persecuted or been killed for their criticism of the government.
The judicial branch is headed by a Constitutional Court, which is only nominally independent.
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Azerbaijan is a member of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, NATO's Partnership for Peace, Euro-Atlantic Partnership; World Health Organization, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the Council of Europe, CFE Treaty, the Community of Democracies; the International Monetary Fund; and the World Bank.
Turkey (the first country to recognize Azerbaijan's independence) has been a staunch supporter of Azerbaijan in its efforts to consolidate its independence, preserve its territorial integrity and realize its economic potential arising from the rich natural resources of the Caspian Sea. The Turkish cultural close ties with Azerbaijan is summarized by the slogan "One people, two states".
Armenia supports ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in the longstanding and very bitter separatist conflict against the Azerbaijani Government; the two countries are still technically at war, although a cease-fise is in place since 1994. (See Nagorno-Karabakh conflict).
Azerbaijan is one of the few countries with predominantly Muslim populations that shares a strategic alliance with Israel. Today, Israel is a major arms supplier to the country. (See Azerbaijan–Israel relations).
Azerbaijan also maintains good relations with the European Union, in the framework of its Eastern European Neighbourhood Policy (See Azerbaijan and the European Union).
Azerbaijan was elected as one the members of the newly established Human Rights Council (HRC) by the General Assembly on May 9, 2006. Term of office will begin on June 19, 2006. [1]
The Azerbaijan Armed Forces consists of four military branches: the army, navy, air force, and air defense forces. The national armed forces of Azerbaijan were formed by presidential decree in October 1991.
In July 1992, Azerbaijan ratified the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), which establishes comprehensive limits on key categories of conventional military equipment and provides for the destruction of weaponry in excess of those limits.
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