Azerbaijan lawmakers call for parliament dissolution, early elections

Baku: Azerbaijan’s lawmakers have asked the country’s president to dissolve the parliament and to call for parliamentary elections.

“During the plenary session of the parliament on Monday, deputy chairperson Bahar Muradova read out the draft decision of Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis (parliament) to appeal to President Ilham Aliyev to dissolve the parliament and call for early elections, the Azertac news agency reported.

The lawmakers representing the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) attributed their initiative to the reforms being carried out in Azerbaijan.

According to Trend news agency, Chairman of the Azerbaijani parliament Ogtay Asadov signed the decision to appeal to the president.

“The recent fundamental reforms in Azerbaijan have reached a qualitatively new stage,” the decision said. “Structural and personnel reforms carried out in the Cabinet of Ministers, central and local executive authorities, judicial system, regional government bodies and in all spheres of life of the state and society in general are welcomed by society.

“At the same time, in order to further accelerate these reforms and cover all branches of state power, there is a need to improve, increase efficiency, renew the Azerbaijani parliament’s activity so that it is consistent with the country’s dynamic development and comprehensive reform strategy.

“The Azerbaijani parliament shouldn’t stay aloof from the process of deepening and expanding the reforms carried out in the country, it should set an example of state behavior so that the reforms also cover the legislative body.

“From this point of view, the members of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party [YAP], who constitute the majority in the Azerbaijani parliament, having decided that in such situation further activity of the parliament is impossible and it is necessary to hold early elections, appealed to the chairman of the parliament.

“During the discussion of this appeal at the plenary meeting of the parliament, most MPs representing other parties, as well as independent MPs, expressing solidarity with the initiative by the YAP representatives, said that continuation of the parliament’s work in this situation is impossible.

“Taking into account the decisive mood of the absolute majority of Azerbaijani MPs in connection with the impossibility of continuing parliamentary activities, it is necessary that the country’s citizens re-elect MPs,” reads the decision. “The Azerbaijani parliament, given the impossibility of fulfilling its powers, believes that it should keep up with the widespread institutional and personnel reforms in the country and restructure its activities.”

“Therefore, in line with modern challenges, in order for the Azerbaijani parliament to exercise its powers envisaged in Articles 94-95 of Azerbaijan’s Constitution and to gain the trust of the people, the parliament must be dissolved and early elections held,” the decision said. “According to the above mentioned, the parliament guided by the third part of Article 95 of the Constitution, has decided the following: to appeal to the Azerbaijani president on its dissolution and holding early elections in line with Article 98-1 of the Constitution.”

The Azerbaijani parliament consists of 125 lawmakers elected based on the majority system. The last parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan were held on November 1, 2015.