Greater than 6.4 million persons are registered to vote in an election dominated by President Ilham Aliyev’s occasion.
Polls have opened in Azerbaijan for an early parliamentary election, the primary for the reason that nation regained full management of the previous breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh in a lightning offensive final 12 months in opposition to ethnic Armenian forces.
Voting started at 8:00 a.m. (04:00 GMT) on Sunday and can finish at 7:00 p.m. (15:00 GMT). Greater than 6.4 million persons are registered to vote within the oil-rich Central Asian nation. Voting is happening in Nagorno-Karabakh for the primary time in 30 years.
Earlier elections since independence from the Soviet Union haven’t been thought-about solely free or honest, and the vote for the Milli Mejlis, the Nationwide Meeting, will not be anticipated to carry important modifications to the physique dominated by President Ilham Aliyev’s New Azerbaijan Social gathering.
Aliyev is commonly accused of ruling with an iron fist and suppressing dissent on this nation of almost 10 million folks on the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan has seen financial development below his management, fueled by important oil and pure gasoline exports. The 62-year-old chief succeeded his father, Heydar Aliyev, who was president from 1993 to 2003.
The ruling occasion holds 69 of the 125 seats within the outgoing parliament, with a lot of the relaxation held by small pro-government events or independents.
The Musavat Social gathering, a serious opposition occasion, fielded 34 candidates for Sunday’s election, however solely 25 of them had been registered. One other opposition occasion, Republican Various, fielded 12 candidates.
In keeping with the structure, elections had been to be held in November, however Aliyev issued a decree bringing them ahead as Baku was to host the UN local weather talks, COP29.
The elections got here slightly below a 12 months after Azerbaijani forces seized the Nagorno-Karabakh area from ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia in a navy operation in 1994, ousting its self-proclaimed authorities. A lot of the area’s 120,000 Armenian residents fled the offensive.
The nation’s Central Election Fee says 50 organizations have been conducting remark missions. The most important contingent of observers, from the Group for Safety and Cooperation in Europe, is scheduled to current its preliminary evaluation of the election on Monday.
