After its independence from the Soviet Union, elections in Azerbaijan have frequently been affected by

electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...

and other unfair election practices, such as holding opposition politicians as

political prisoners A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

. Since 1993,

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev (10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was an Azerbaijani politician who was a Soviet party boss in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1969 to 1982, and the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to ...

and his son

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

have been continuously in power. Political scientists characterize Azerbaijan as an electoral authoritarian regime. The ruling New Azerbaijan Party, headed by Ilham Aliyev, controls all the electoral commissions in Azerbaijan. The

President of Azerbaijan The president of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. The Constitution of Azerbaijan, Constitution states that the president is the embodiment of Executive (government), executive power, co ...

is elected for a seven-year term by the people; before a

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

referendum changed this in 2009, the position was limited to two terms. The

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

(''Milli Məclis'') has 125 members. Before 2005, 100 members were elected for a five-year term in single-seat

constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

and 25 members were elected by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

. Since 2005 all 125 members are elected in single-seat

. Azerbaijan is a one party dominant state. The most recent

parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

were held on Sunday, 1 September 2024. The most recent

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

was held on Wednesday, 7 February 2024.

Latest elections

Presidental

National Assembly

Past elections

Presidential elections

* 2024 Azerbaijani presidential election * 2018 Azerbaijani presidential election * 2013 Azerbaijani presidential election * 2008 Azerbaijani presidential election * 2003 Azerbaijani presidential election * 1998 Azerbaijani presidential election * 1993 Azerbaijani presidential election * 1992 Azerbaijani presidential election * 1991 Azerbaijani presidential election *1990 Azerbaijani presidential election

Parliamentary elections

* 2024 Azerbaijani parliamentary election * 2020 Azerbaijani parliamentary election * 2015 Azerbaijani parliamentary election * 2010 Azerbaijani parliamentary election *

2005 Azerbaijani parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Azerbaijan on 6 November 2005. They pitted candidates of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) against opposition led by the Azadlıq (Freedom) bloc of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, Musavat and the ...

* 2000–01 Azerbaijani parliamentary election * 1995–1996 Azerbaijani parliamentary election * 1990 Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet election

Constitutional referendums

* 2016 Azerbaijani constitutional referendum * 2009 Azerbaijani constitutional referendum *

2002 Azerbaijani constitutional referendum A constitutional referendum was held in Azerbaijan on 24 August 2002. The referendum was initiated by the authoritarian Heydar Aliyev regime. Voters were asked eight separate questions, all of which were approved with at least 96% voting in favour ...

1995 Azerbaijani constitutional referendum A constitutional referendum was held in Azerbaijan on 12 November 1995 alongside the first round of Azerbaijani parliamentary election, 1995–1996, parliamentary elections. Voters were asked to vote for or against a constitutional draft publicly ...

Other referendums

* 1993 Azerbaijani vote of confidence referendum * 1991 Azerbaijani independence referendum

References

External links

Adam Carr's Election ArchiveAzerbaijan – Parliamentary Elections, 2005
{{Azerbaijan-election-stub