The ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) of President Ilham Aliyev retained its dominant place in Parliament in a snap parliamentary election held on 1 September. YAP retained 68 of 125 seats, with the remainder going to loyal independent MPs or allied parties. The nominally opposition Republican Alternative Party retained its one seat in Parliament. The election was, like previous elections, boycotted by most opposition parties was and neither free nor fair. The election observation mission from the OSCE concluded the election was conducted “against the background of continued repression” and observed “serious irregularities” including 26 cases of ballot box stuffing. Official voting age population turnout was 63.52 per cent, up from 33.58 per cent in 2020, but official data on voter registration and population is of low credibility. The number of women in parliament increased to 26 from 21. 

Sources: Eurasianet, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Republic of Azerbaijan Central Election Commission, IPU Parline 

Human rights groups say that in recent months, Azerbaijan has launched the most thorough crackdown on civil society in a decade, in the run up to the 1 September parliamentary election and to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference in November. Activists and journalists have been detained on charges ranging from international currency smuggling to treason, including six journalists from the independent Abzas Media, election observation and rights activist Anar Mammadli, and Bahruz Samadov, a doctoral student at the Charles University in Czechia. The crackdown focuses on media and activists as previous waves of repression have largely eliminated organised independent civil society organisations. Even public figures who were long able to live in the country while criticizing the government, like Altay Goyushov, head of a prominent local non-profit think tank, have proactively left the country to avoid potential imprisonment. Azerbaijani human rights activists now count over 300 political prisoners for the first time since the early 2000s.

Sources: Amnesty International, International Federation of Journalists, Human Rights House, The Economist, Turan News Agency, International IDEA

Snap presidential elections returned the usual results of a landslide win for President Ilham Aliyev on 7 February. The campaign was marked by a lack of voter engagement, even by Azerbaijani standards, documented ballot stuffing and other election-day irregularities, and token opposition candidates that publicly encouraged voters to choose Aliyev. President Aliyev did not himself campaign or take part in televised debates, and real opposition parties boycotted as usual but, in a novel development, were either unwilling or unable to mobilize public rallies or shows of discontent, as had typically been the case in previous elections.

Sources: OSCE, OC Media, Eurasianet

Azerbaijan held snap presidential elections on 7 February in which President Ilham Aliyev was elected to a fifth term in office. Aliyev, who took office in 2003, received 92.12 per cent of the vote with 76 per cent voter turnout, although neither number could be independently verified. No women were among the registered candidates. The European Parliament declined to observe or comment on the elections. The OSCE election observation mission said the election “took place in a restrictive environment, and while preparations were efficiently managed, it was marked by the stifling of critical voices and the absence of political alternatives.”

Sources: OC Media, Turan News Agency, David McAllister MEP

The Azerbaijani delegation withdrew from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on 24 January, leaving the country a member of the international rights body but without representation in its assembly. The withdrawal was announced several hours before PACE held a vote expelling the delegation for Azerbaijan’s failure to meet its commitments to hold free and fair elections, respect human rights, and other democratic principles. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on 1 February the country would pull out of the Council and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) if its voting rights were not reinstated. With Azerbaijan’s justice system considered neither impartial nor independent of the executive, applications to the ECtHR are essentially the only recourse for justice or redress in the country. Azerbaijan would be the third country to withdraw CoE since its founding in 1949 (Greece’s withdrew in 1969 but returned in 1974, and Russia withdrew in March 2022).

Sources: Eurasianet, Office of the President of Azerbaijan