Sudden elections in Azerbaijan raise concerns about fair political play

On May 2, Chairman of the Central Election Commission Mazakhir Panakhov announced a decision that stirred up political discussions in Azerbaijan that parliamentary elections scheduled for November could be postponed to an early date. The rationale? This coincides with COP29, the UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Azerbaijan in November this year.

Historically, elections in Azerbaijan were held ahead of schedule. The 2020 parliamentary elections were postponed by six months, ostensibly to accelerate reforms, while the 2023 presidential elections, originally scheduled for next year, were postponed to February 7 to mark the restoration of sovereignty over all national territories.

Sabir Rustamkhanli, a member of the Milli Majlis Committee on International Relations and chairman of the Civil Solidarity Party, supported this decision in an interview with Turan, highlighting the logistical problems associated with the upcoming COP29 event. According to Rustamkhanli, hosting, meeting and seeing off tens of thousands of participants is an important event that will complicate the logistics of simultaneous elections.

However, the opposition perceives these early elections in a different way. Deputy Chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) Seymour Khazi, in an interview with Radio Azadlig, expressed his attitude towards the timing of the elections, emphasizing instead systemic problems that, in his opinion, exclude the possibility of holding democratic elections within the framework of current legislation.

Political commentator Nasimi Mammadli said that elections in Azerbaijan cannot be equated with elections held in democratic countries. "These days in Azerbaijan are just voting days," Mammadli told Azadlig Radio, implying that genuine electoral choice has been undermined in recent years.

According to the Constitution of Azerbaijan, parliamentary elections should be held every five years on the third day of the first week of November. Although early elections are allowed by the constitution, Mammadli and others argue that this practice is being used strategically to disorient and disenfranchise potential opposition candidates and voters.

Critics argue that such a scheme of snap elections is intended not only to eliminate conflict on the agenda of high-level events, but also to ensure that there are no serious rivals in the political field. This strategy, in their opinion, minimizes the possibility of effective organization of opposition forces, thereby maintaining the status quo and undermining the democratic process.