On Monday, 26^th September, a referendum about changes in the constitution took place in Azerbaijan. It was proposed by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and concerned changes to 29 articles of the basic law of the country, including the extension of the presidential term from 5 to 7 years. The amendments will pass if they receive a majority of votes. Turnout has to reach at least 25% for the referendum to have an effect. If the changes are passed, a position of vice-president will be created, replacing the prime minister as the person directly below the president. Moreover, the presidential term will be lengthened from five to seven years, and the president will have the right to dissolve the parliament.

Critics say that the referendum will strengthen the power of President Ilham Aliyev, who in 2003 “inherited” the presidency from his father, Heydar Aliyev. The opposition denounced it and organised mass protests, while the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Venice Commission, tasked with assessing constitutional changes in Council’s member states deemed the proposed changes destabilising to the balance of power. A mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE monitoring the referendum issued a statement in which it praised the transparency of voting process, noting minor violation in the run-up to the referendum. However, it also called upon the government to respect Venice Commission’s opinion and decried lack of proper debate on the amendments.

The Central Election Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan promised to announce the results of the plebiscite by 21^st October. The referendum was authorised in July by the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan.

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