October 18, Azerbaijan marks the Day of Independence.
On this day in 1991, the Azerbaijani parliament adopted the Constitutional Act on the restoration of the state independence of Azerbaijan.
By this document, the Republic of Azerbaijan was declared the successor of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic of 1918-20, which collapsed as a result of occupation of Azerbaijan by Bolshevik Russia.
According to the Constitutional Act, all citizens are guaranteed full equality, regardless of ethnicity or religion.
Until 2006, October 18 was celebrated as a festive holiday. However, the Parliament amended the legislation by eliminating October 18 as a holiday, and on the occasion of this date, no state measures are held by the current government.
The authorities unfairly marginalised the role of the then members of the Democratic Bloc who initiated the adoption of the Constitutional Act of Independence . They did not establish a parliamentary pension for them, whilst many members of the Communist Bloc which voted in March 1991 for the preservation of the USSR in the years of independence have always taken high government positions. -06D-
Politics
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Voting in the early elections to the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan began at 8:00. Voting is taking place at 6,478 polling stations throughout Azerbaijan, including the lands liberated from occupation. 990 candidates are competing for 125 seats in the unicameral parliament.
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Armenia is not against the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, but does not consider it appropriate to discuss this issue now. "In the context of peace, we consider it possible to make a decision on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. When peace is an established fact, the existence of such a format may raise questions," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference today. "The whole question is about the timing, we need to understand how effectively and correctly to turn such topics into a subject of discussion right now," the Armenian Prime Minister added.
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He expressed his willingness to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the border between the two countries. "A meeting with Ilham Aliyev could take place at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I am open to such a format," Pashinyan said at a press conference today. According to Pashinyan, Armenia recently presented another proposal for a peace treaty to Azerbaijan.
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On August 31, Azerbaijan observes a "day of silence" before the Sunday’s early parliamentary elections for the unicameral Milli Majlis. All electoral campaigning is prohibited 24 hours before the voting. The early elections were initiated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party. This decision was motivated by the overlap of the scheduled elections in November with the global UN forum - the COP20 climate conference taking place in Baku.
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