Azerbaijan To Hold Presidential Elections 6 Months Early

Azerbaijanis will be heading to the polls early this year to vote for president, roughly six months ahead of schedule.

Voters will cast their ballots on April 11, rather than October 17, which will be the eighth of its kind since the modern republics founding in 1991, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

On Monday, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree that moved up the date. Azerbaijan’s constitution allows for its head of state to call for early elections, termed “extraordinary.” 

Ali Hasanov, an Assistant to the President for Public and Political Issues, said the reason Aliyev has called for a snap election is due to the number of major events Azerbaijan will be hosting in the fall, which could present scheduling difficulties.

One analyst offered a different opinion, saying the early vote is necessary to safeguard the country’s democracy.

“Safeguarding the tranquility in the country and preventing any possible meddling from abroad are the main reasons behind rescheduling the [presidential] elections in Azerbaijan,” Elkhan Shahinoglu, the head of the Atlas Research Center headquartered in Baku, told Caspian News.

Shahinoglu cited the “union of billionaires,” a group of several former politicians and tycoons from Azerbaijan and living in Moscow that have reportedly tried intervene and meddle in the 2013 election.

“This year’s election will be held at an early date for staving off similar interventions, even if the credibility of such intrusions is less possible,” Shahinoglu told Caspian News.

With a population of 9.8 million, over 5.15 are eligible to vote, according the state statistics committee.