Latest Articles about Azerbaijan
KERIMLI BATTLE-CRY SPARKS MELEE IN BAKU
An emotional outburst by Popular Front of Azerbaijan Party (PFAP) leader Ali Kerimli, urging confrontation with the police, turned the opposition's lawful, peaceful November 26 post-election protest rally into a violent melee with the Baku police. Kerimli's rhetoric differed markedly from that of Musavat Party... MORE
INTERNATIONAL MONITORS SPLIT OVER AZERBAIJAN ELECTIONS
The November 6 parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan drew significant international attention, partly driven by the desire to see if another democratic "color revolution" would take place in the post-Soviet region. Foreign journalists and international observers flooded the streets of Baku. Historically a geopolitical battleground, Azerbaijan... MORE
WILL AZERBAIJAN’S OPPOSITION CHOOSE TURMOIL AS A STRATEGY?
Emboldened by certain international monitors' biased assessments, and ignoring the more objective evaluations of Azerbaijan's parliamentary elections, opposition leaders have launched street actions to press for the annulment of the results of the November 6 parliamentary vote and for holding new elections country-wide. The radical... MORE
AZERBAIJAN’S OPPOSITION SET TO CONTINUE PROTEST RALLIES, BUT TIME IS RUNNING OUT
On Sunday November 13, the Azerbaijani opposition bloc Azadliq (Freedom), which unites the Musavat, Popular Front, and Democratic parties, joined with the Liberal Party and YES election bloc to hold a second protest rally in Baku's Galaba Square. The rally, initially planned for Saturday but... MORE
OPPOSITION RALLY FAILS TO CHANGE RESULTS OF AZERBAIJAN’S PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
As was expected in the run-up to last Sunday's vote, Azerbaijani opposition parties have refused to recognize the legitimacy of the November 6 parliamentary election results and have taken to the streets in protest. On November 9, three days after the election, the main opposition... MORE
AZERBAIJAN MOVES SWIFTLY TO ADDRESS ELECTORAL FRAUD COMPLAINTS
Azerbaijan's Central Electoral Commission convened on November 8 to begin considering complaints of electoral fraud in the November 6 parliamentary elections. The CEC ordered recounts of the vote in certain electoral districts where pro-government candidates had purportedly won, and requested the Prosecutor-General's Office to check... MORE
OPENING OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM DEFINES AZERBAIJAN’S IMPERFECT ELECTIONS
Other than the irregularities that marred the New Azerbaijan Party's (YAP) clear-cut overall victory, ultimately the salient fact in these parliamentary elections is the opening up of the political system. Unsurprisingly, Azerbaijan's political system and most players are insufficiently prepared technically, professionally, and (not least)... MORE
LOW TURNOUT IN AZERBAIJAN SUGGESTS DISAPPOINTMENT WITH ELECTORAL PROCESS
On November 6 Azerbaijanis went to the polls to elect 125 new members of the National Parliament. According to the final numbers from the Central Election Commission (CEC), turnout was close to 47% of all registered voters, a number generally confirmed by local and international... MORE
AZERBAIJANI-UKRAINIAN RELATIONS DETERIORATE AFTER STOLEN ELECTIONS
Ukraine has followed the lead of the OSCE in not recognizing the official results of Azerbaijan's November 6 parliamentary elections. A Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman said, "We support the earlier conclusions of the OSCE observer mission on this question and are awaiting the final verdict... MORE
AZERBAIJAN RESPONSIVE TO ELECTION OBSERVERS’ CRITIQUE DESPITE EXAGGERATIONS
Quite predictably (from past experience, and in a novice parliamentary system) many local irregularities were recorded in Azerbaijan's November 6 parliamentary elections. Equally predictably from all opinion surveys, the irregularities could not affect the clear-cut overall victory of President Ilham Aliyev's Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party.... MORE