"There will be no special changes"

The detention of Azerbaijani opposition leader Ali Kerimli on charges of plotting a government overthrow comes amid broader turmoil in the country’s political landscape, as authorities dismantle networks linked to former presidential administration chief Ramiz Mehdiyev and prepare for possible constitutional reforms next year, experts and politicians say.

There are only a few days left until the municipal elections to be held in Azerbaijan on January 29.

On July 17, at the next meeting of the Board of the Yeni Azerbaijan Party, in connection with the upcoming early parliamentary elections on September 1, a list of candidates for all 125 districts was determined.

"According to the legislation, parliamentary elections should be held in November this year, but their dates may be postponed to an earlier date,"  Chairman of the Central Election Commission Mazahir Panahov  said at a meeting of the Central Election Commission on May 2. Panahov attributed this to the fact that the elections coincide with COP29 (the UN Climate Change Conference), which will be held in November in Azerbaijan: "Therefore, a decision may be made to postpone the elections."