Municipal elections in Azerbaijan are scheduled for January 29, 2025, as announced during a session of the Central Election Commission (CEC) on November 27.
On October 18, 2024, the Milli Majlis (Parliament) reviewed a draft law proposing amendments to the "List of Municipalities of the Republic of Azerbaijan," an appendix to the Law "On Municipal Territories and Lands."
The Milli Majlis approved the consolidation of 1,400 municipalities, reducing their total number to 685. On November 25, President Ilham Aliyev signed the law into effect.
To date, five municipal elections have been held in Azerbaijan: in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019. The most recent municipal elections took place on December 23, 2019.
According to the Election Code, municipal elections are held every five years. Historically, these elections have always occurred in December. However, some experts argue that postponing the elections is unlawful.
The questions surrounding municipal elections were addressed in the program "A difficult question" by Mirali Guseynov, the chairman of the public union "Democracy Studies." According to Guseynov, the CEC's decision to hold municipal elections on January 29, 2025, is debatable.
The Election Code specifies that municipal elections must occur every five years (previously held in December). However, another article of the Election Code states that the term of a municipality begins on the voting day and ends on the day of the first session of the newly elected municipalities. This implies that current municipalities can continue functioning until the first session of the newly elected bodies.
These provisions of the Election Code contradict each other, as the law does not specify an exact date for municipal elections. Furthermore, gaps in the legislation create such misunderstandings.
Guseynov notes that the consolidation of municipalities and the reduction in their number is not new for Azerbaijan. Similar consolidations occurred in 2009 and 2014 but did not yield satisfactory results.
For municipalities to function effectively, elections must first and foremost be free and fair. Additionally, it is essential to transfer powers from executive authorities to municipalities.
Sonuncu bələdiyyə seçkiləri 2019-cu il dekabrın 23-də keçirilib.
Seçki Məcəlləsinə əsasən, bələdiyyə seçkiləri hər beş ildən bir keçirilir. İndiyədək həmişə bu seçkilər dekabrda olub.
Bəzi ekspertlər bələdiyyə seçkilərinin keçirilməsi vaxtının uzadılmasını qanuna zidd hesab edirlər.
“Demokratiyanı Öyrənmə” İctimai Birliyinin sədri Mirəli Hüseynov Kamran Mahmudovun təqdimatında yayımlanan “Çətin sual” verilişində bu barədə danışır.
Difficult question
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