AZERBAIJAN TO VOTE TO END PRESIDENTIAL LIMIT

Javno.hr
Dec 19 2008
Croatia

The ex-Soviet republic between Russia and Iran has been dominated by
the Aliyev family for more than three decades.

Azerbaijan on Friday edged closer to a referendum on scrapping a
two-term presidential limit, a step that could prolong the Aliyev
family’s grip on the oil-producing state.

The ex-Soviet republic between Russia and Iran has been dominated
by the Aliyev family for more than three decades, first under former
Communist boss Heydar Aliyev and then his son Ilham since 2003.

Ilham Aliyev, 46, won a second term in October in a landslide election
boycotted by the opposition and faulted by European monitors as less
than democratic.

The constitution limits Aliyev’s rule to two consecutive terms. His
mandate expires in 2013.

Parliament on Friday voted 95-4 to ask the Constitutional Court to
rule on amendments to the constitution lifting the two-term limit. The
initiative was proposed by Aliyev’s ruling New Azerbaijan party,
which dominates parliament.

A parliamentary source told Reuters the court would likely endorse
the amendments by the end of December, and parliament would then put
the issue to a referendum.

"These constitutional amendments provide for the protection of human
rights in Azerbaijan in a more effective way," said Ali Huseinov,
head of the parliamentary commission on legal policy and human rights.

The ruling party argues the limit is undemocratic. The opposition,
divided and marginalised, accused the authorities of trying to
"legalise monarchy".

Ilham Aliyev’s rule has coincided with an oil-fuelled economic boom,
driving record growth rates and a building boom transforming the
capital, Baku.

But analysts question whether he commands the same respect as his
father, and critics say his continued grip on power owes more to
curbs on democracy and media than genuine popularity.

The opposition accuses the West of turning a blind eye for fear of
losing access to Azeri oil reserves in the Caspian Sea and influence
over energy transit routes to Western Europe, bypassing Russia.

Heydar Aliyev was a local KGB chief who went on to rule Azerbaijan
over several periods first as Communist party boss and then as
president. The personality cult built around Heydar persists today,
five years since his death.

Some analysts say Ilham Aliyev has been overshadowed by his father’s
legacy and the inner circle he inherited, disappointing those at home
and in the West who expected him to reform the country of 8.3 million
people, mostly Shi’ite Muslims.

The falling price of oil has some analysts questioning the stability
of his rule. The country’s breakaway, Armenian-backed Nagorno-Karabakh
territory also poses a threat to peace in a region rocked this year
by war between Georgia and Russia.
From: Baghdasarian