Azerbaijan’s ruling party retained its parliamentary majority in the recent snap parliamentary election, according to preliminary results. This was the first election since Azerbaijan recaptured the breakaway territory of Karabakh. President Ilham Aliyev’s party is expected to secure 68 out of the 125 seats in parliament, slightly down from the 69 seats it held previously.
The election saw over two million people casting their ballots, with voter turnout reaching 37.3%. However, the election has been criticized by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which stated that the vote fell short of democratic standards. The OSCE highlighted that the election campaign was “barely visible” and took place in a restrictive environment, lacking genuine pluralism.
Opposition party Musavat has refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new parliament, citing widespread violations, including multiple voting, ballot stuffing, and pressure on observers. Other opposition groups boycotted the election.
This parliamentary vote was significant as it followed Azerbaijan’s recapture of Karabakh, an area where ethnic Armenians had enjoyed de facto independence since the Soviet Union’s collapse. Despite Armenia’s accusations of ethnic cleansing, Azerbaijan has denied these claims and is focused on rebuilding the region and resettling it with Azerbaijanis who fled during the earlier conflict. Approximately 42,000 people in Karabakh were registered to vote in the election.
