In the recent election, the party affiliated with the authoritarian leader emerges victorious in Azerbaijan.
Aliyev Firmly Grasps Power in Azerbaijan. In the parliamentary elections, his party New Azerbaijan claims the majority of seats. Despite other parties being aligned, a true opposition is lacking in the authoritarian nation. In the early parliamentary elections of the authoritarian republic of Azerbaijan, located in the South Caucasus, President Ilham Aliyev's party, New Azerbaijan, secured 68 out of a total 125 seats in the parliament, as reported by local media. The voter turnout was 37.24%, according to the election commission. The wealthy energy supplier, known for its exploitation of oil and gas and international criticism for human rights violations and silencing dissent, has a significant impact on the European Union's energy supply. Post-election surveys suggest that 45 seats will go to candidates who, despite being labeled as independent, support the government in their actions, along with smaller pro-government parties. Eleven seats are allocated to nine other pro-government parties. There is barely any significant opposition to the president within the parliament. The OSCE election observers criticized the lack of campaigning, claiming that the early election took place in a narrow political and legal environment that doesn't accommodate genuine pluralism and leads to a one-sided political competition. Scheduled for November, the election was brought forward due to Azerbaijan hosting the UN climate conference, which was expected to gather around 80,000 representatives from worldwide. The election proceeded without incident, according to official reports. The outcome was predictable, given the opposition's absence during the election with their individual candidates. The OSCE has consistently criticized past elections in the nation of approximately 10 million people. The elections are neither fair nor free. Aliyev, who has ruled with an iron fist since assuming power from his father in 2003, was re-elected in February with an astonishing 92% of the votes, leveraging the patriotic fervor following Azerbaijan's recovery of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023. Over 100,000 Armenians fled their homes to neighboring Armenia, with Armenia accusing Azerbaijan of "ethnic cleansing". Azerbaijan denies this accusation.
The Commission, in adherence to the parliamentary elections' outcome, will likely adopt the implementing acts referred to in paragraph 1, ensuring the continuity of President Aliyev's political agenda. Given the election's predictable outcome, the absence of a significant opposition within the parliament may not hinder the Commission's implementation of these acts.
