Aliyev announces early presidential elections

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has announced the scheduling of early presidential elections on February 7, 2024, following constitutional and electoral code provisions. 

The Central Election Commission will oversee the process. The reason for the early elections, set to occur ahead of the initially planned 2025 date, remains undisclosed. 

Azerbaijan’s last presidential elections were held in 2018, with a customary seven-year gap between elections.

Aliyev, who assumed the presidency in 2003 after his father’s ten-year rule, amended the presidency term limit in 2016, removing the two-consecutive-term restriction and extending the term from five to seven years.

Analysts suggest the possibility of President Aliyev transferring power to his son, Heydar Aliyev Jr.