AZERBAIJAN
| COUNTRY |
Republic
of Azerbaijan |
| ELECTION TYPE |
Presidential |
| DATE |
October
15,
2003 |
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Story Tools:
At stake in this election:
- The office of
the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
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Description of government structure:
- Chief of State:
President Heydar ALIYEV
- Head of Government:
Prime Minister Ilham ALIYEV
- National Assembly:
Azerbaijan has a unicameral National Assembly (Milli Mejlis)
which consists of 125 seats.
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Description
of electoral system:
- The president
is elected by popular vote to serve a five year term.
- Members of the
National Assembly are elected by popular vote to serve a five year
term. Out of the 125 members, 100 members
were elected
from single mandate constituencies while the remaining 25 were elected
based on proportional representation. Approval of a recent referendum,
however, ensures that all 125 members will be elected from single
mandate districts in the next parliamentary election.
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Results
in the
presidential race:
- Presidential Candidate: Ilham ALIYEV
Nominated by Nakhichevan electorates (initiative group of citizens)
Valid Votes Received: 2,438,787
Percent of Valid Votes Received: 77.97%
- Presidential Candidate: Isa GAMBAR
Party: Musavat Party
Valid Votes Received: 372,385
Percent of Valid Votes Received: 11.91%
- Presidential Candidate: Lala-Shovket HAJIYEVA
Party: National Unity (Milli Birlik)
Valid Votes Received: 100,558
Percent of Valid Votes Received: 3.22%
- Presidential Candidate: Etibar MAMEDOV
Party: Azerbaijan National Independence Party (AMIP) and the Azerbaijan
Popular Front Party (AHCP)
Valid Votes Received: 62,401
Percent of Valid Votes Received: 2.00%
- Presidential Candidate: Ilyas ISMAYILOV
Party: Adalet (Justice) Party
Valid Votes Received: 24,926
Percent of Valid Votes Received: 0.80%
- Presidential Candidate: Sabir RUSTAMKHANLI
Party: Civil Solidarity Party
Valid Votes Received: 23,730
Percent of Valid Votes Received: 0.76%
- Presidential Candidate: Gudrat HASANGULIYEV
Party: “Popular Front” (Khalg Jabhesi)
Valid Votes Received: 13,624
Percent of Valid Votes Received: 0.44%
- Presidential Candidate: Hafiz HAJIYEV
Party: Modem Musavat Party
Valid Votes Received: 9,990
Percent of Valid Votes Received: 0.32%
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When
was the last presidential election?
- The last presidential election was held on October 11, 1998. In this
election, Heydar ALIYEV won the presidency by securing 77.6% of the
valid votes over Etibar MAMEDOV who had 11.8%, and Nizami SULEYMANOV
with 8.2% of the votes.
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Population and
number of registered voters:
- Population: 7,830,764
(July 2003 estimate)
- Number of registered voters:
4,382,802
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Is
there anything unique about this upcoming election that would be of interest
to an international audience?
- Hafiz HAJIYEV
of the Contemporary Musavat Party and Sabir RUSTAMKHANLI
of the Civil Solidarity Party were almost disqualified in the presidential
race due to lack of signatures. However, the Central Election
Commission
allowed their participation because they paid the required
fees to participate in the race.
- On September
14, the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AHCP) and the Azerbaijan
National Independence Party (AMIP) agreed
on having
AMIP Chairman Etibar MAMEDOV as their presidential candidate.
If MAMEDOV is elected as President, the AHCP will be granted
the power
to nominate a Prime Minister.
- Harassment of
journalists, lack of access to media for presidential candidates,
and concerns that President
ALIYEV will pass the presidency
to his son, Prime Minister Ilham ALIYEV, are among
the top concerns surrounding the elections.
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