Azerbaijan holds first presidential elections after full restoration of sovereignty

By Dr Mehmood ul Hassan Khan

True democracy is at its peak during the ongoing electioneering of the presidential election in Azerbaijan, to be held on February 7, 2024. The trinity of modern human civilization, comprising fair, free, and transparent elections, a stable political system, and responsive democracy, is catering to the needs of human survival, protection of basic human rights, freedom of expression, socio-economic prosperity, qualitative life, and last but not least, people’s prosperity in the Republic of Azerbaijan, which will be further strengthened, streamlined, and systematised after the upcoming presidential election.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Azerbaijan has established the "Election 2024" Independent Media Centre, which vividly reflects openness, democratic diversity, transparency, and accountability in its political system.

According to the CEC, as of today, a total of 65,000 observers from 19 political parties have been accredited to monitor the election, having successfully completed the accreditation process at both the Central Election Commission and district election commissions.

More than 512 international observers from 70 countries and 49 international organisations have also been accredited for the election. Hopefully, it will further strengthen the process of politicisation and democratisation in the Republic of Azerbaijan, which is a good omen.

On December 7, 2023, President Ilham Aliyev declared an early presidential election to be held on February 7, 2024. The president is elected for a seven-year term by popular vote from a single nationwide constituency.

Critical analysis Azerbaijan’s constitution and political history, it reveals that structural reforms of democratisation and politicisation have transformed its governance, civility, society, legislation, and administration, due to which it has now achieved dreams of a qualitative life.

Azerbaijan is a democratic country, and its CEC is also an independent legal entity. Azerbaijan’s society believes in fair play, equal opportunity, the right to access information, and last but not least, the right to association, the golden parameters and principles of modern western democracy. Moreover, the independence and vibrancy of its mass media always protect transparency and fairness in elections.

The CEC, being an independent organ of the state, has facilitated presidential electioneering by providing equal free airtime and space for publication to all the registered candidates. It has a multi-party democracy, which widens the scope of free choice for the voters.

Moreover, all necessary conditions have been created for the presidential election. Presidential elections in Azerbaijan are being held for the first time after the full restoration of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

To safeguard the voting rights of Azerbaijani people residing abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is taking necessary measures for the upcoming early presidential elections on February 7, 2024. A total of 49 polling stations have been set up in 37 countries. It is the first time an election is held on the entire territory of Azerbaijan. The liberation of Garabagh marked the beginning of a new era. Mobile voting boxes will be set up to enable sick people and the elderly to vote during the election process.

According to the republic’s election legislation, the election campaign begins 23 days before the voting day slated for February 7, that is, January 15, and concludes 24 hours before the election.

Azerbaijan operates under a presidential system, as outlined in its Constitution, where the president serves a seven-year term. To secure the presidency, a candidate must gather more than half of the votes. Suppose no candidate achieves this majority in the initial election. In that case, the top two contenders proceed to a second round, with the candidate receiving the most votes in that round ultimately securing the presidency.

The CEC reported some 6,320,500 registered voters. The CEC is planning to print over 6.5 million ballot papers for the upcoming extraordinary presidential election in Azerbaijan.

The election is administered by the Central Election Commission (CEC), 125 Constituency Election Commissions and 6,319 Precinct Election Commissions.

The CEC received 17 requests for nominations and approved all of them. None of the nominees were women. Seven candidates were registered within the deadline; the remaining 10 did not return their signature sheets with the required 40,000 signatures. Foreign policy and the restoration of territorial integrity are the key themes of the campaign at present.

The right to stand for president is granted to voters who have permanently resided in Azerbaijan for at least 10 years, have a university degree, do not hold dual citizenship, and do not have any liabilities before other states or a previous conviction for a serious crime.

In summary, the incumbent president, Ilham Aliyev, has steadily increased his vote bank. Thus, political support and public sentiments are with him because of his immense socio-economic achievements, pragmatic foreign policy, and constant and continued people's-centric policies.

Historically, Azerbaijan was the first functional democracy in the entire Muslim world, and since its independence, it has been implementing numerous structural reforms to achieve the optimal levels of politicisation and democratisation in its country.

During the last two decades, the state budget has increased 30 times. The budget expenses per person were less than 150 manats in 2003; today, this number is more than 3500 manats. As for social protection expenses, the increase in this area is more than 20 times. Also, compared to 2003, the poverty level in 2022 has decreased from 44.7 percent to 5.5 percent, and the average monthly salary has increased from 77.4 manats to 839.4 manats. Thus, his policies have been catalysts for socio-economic development in the country.

The average nominal monthly salary has increased 12 times, from 76.8 manat ($45) from January through November 2003 to 923.1 manat ($543) for the same period in 2023. The minimum wage has increased 38 times, from nine manat ($5.29) in 2003 to 345 manat ($202.9) in 2023. The number of employment contracts has increased by 38.5 percent, from 1.3 million in 2017 to 1.8 million in 2023.

Employment has increased by 25 percent, from four million people in 2003 to five million people in 2023. The number of economically active population has grown by 20 percent, from 4.4 million people to 5.3 million people. The annual amount allocated for employment programs has increased from seven million manat ($4 million) in 2018 to 525 million manat ($308.8 million) by 2024 (75 times increase).

Under the presidency of President Ilham Aliyev (20 years), the GDP of the non-oil sector has grown 3.4 times showing the success of diversification of the macro-economy. Azerbaijan’s foreign exchange reserves have grown more than 47 times exceeding $66 billion. More than 2.5 million new jobs have been generated in the country enabling to reduce of poverty. Its GDP estimation is 6.3 percent which is the highest in the South Caucasus.

More than 250 foreign-invested enterprises representing 75 states function in the industry field, and thousands of workplaces have been opened. 74 percent of investments made in the national economy in 2003 were directed just to the industrial fields. The number of foreign and joint ventures increased 3 times during these years.

It is crystal clear that elections usually represent the existence of electoral democracy in modern civilization, and the Republic of Azerbaijan is no exception. Elections have been held in Azerbaijan on a regular basis since its inception. Even the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) was formed, developed, and survived through fair, free, and transparent elections. The journey from electoral democracy to substantial and liberal democracy is not the end goal of Azerbaijan but the people’s democracy.

Dr Mehmood ul Hassan Khan is the Executive Director: The Centre for South and International Studies (CSAIS) Islamabad