Photo: OSCE. President Ilham Aliyev votes in February 9 Azerbaijan parliamentary elections
On February 9, 2020, Azerbaijan held a snap election for the first time in its history. On December 2, 2019, Yeni Azerbaijan (New Azerbaijan), the ruling party, proposed to dissolve the parliament to help modernize the country's legislative branch and speed up economic reforms, and the proposal was approved by President Ilham Aliyev on December 5.
The polls resulted in a governing party’s win, with candidates from Yeni Azerbaijan Party winning 65 of 125 seats. Independent candidates took 43 seats, and the rest of the seats were taken by eight different parties.
With regards to the election, 1,314 candidates were registered. Among the candidates, 246 people were nominated by 19 political parties, 1,057 were self-nominated, and 11 were from initiative groups. 21 percent of the candidates were female, while 79 percent were male candidates. There were 5,426 permanent polling stations operating in 125 constituencies of the country.
Some 883 international observers and 77,790 local observers were monitoring the voting process. Among the local observers, 35,152 were representatives of political parties. International observers represented 58 countries and 59 organizations.
After the elections on February 10, 2020, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by the head of Turkey-Azerbaijan interparliamentary friendship group Samil Ayrim. Members of the observation mission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly observed the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan held on February 9.
During the meeting, Ayrim complimented on Azerbaijan’s well-developed political system, saying that the elections were held very objectively and that they witnessed a level of organization that exceeded international standards. In return, Aliyev emphasized his trust towards the Turkish-Azerbaijani friendship group in the Turkish Grand National Assembly in that they would continue to make a special contribution to the development of relations between the two countries.
[Sources]
Azernews. (2020, February 10). Some countries should learn from Azerbaijan - Turkish observation mission [PHOTO]. Retrieved from https://www.azernews.az/nation/161618.html
Trend. (2020, February 10). Ilham Aliyev receives delegation led by head of Turkey-Azerbaijan interparliamentary friendship group (PHOTO). Retrieved from https://en.trend.az/azerbaijan/politics/3189578.html
Aliyev, J. (2020, February 7). Azerbaijan to hold snap parliamentary election on Feb.9. Retrieved from https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/azerbaijan-to-hold-snap-parliamentary-election-on-feb9/1727016
Erbay, N. Ö. (2020, February 12). Winds of reform blow in Azerbaijan. Retrieved from https://www.dailysabah.com/asia/2020/02/11/winds-of-reform-blow-in-azerbaijan
BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
