1992 Azerbaijani presidential election

Last updated May 11, 2024

Presidential elections were held in Azerbaijan on 7 June 1992.^[1] The elections were the first in Azerbaijan in more than seventy years not held under communist control and featured the unprecedented use of television, posters, and other media by multiple candidates to communicate platforms and solicit votes.^[2]

The candidates included Azerbaijani Popular Front Party leader Abulfaz Elchibey, former parliament speaker Yaqub Mamedov, Movement for Democratic Reforms leader and Minister of Justice Ilyas Ismayilov, National Democratic Group leader Rafig Abdullayev, and Union of Democratic Intelligentsia candidate Nizami Suleymanov.^[2] Two other candidates, from the Azerbaijan National Independence Party and the Popular Front Party, withdrew from the race during the campaign.^[2] Elchibey received 61% of more than three million votes cast. The runner-up, Nizami Suleymanov, made a surprise showing of 34% of the vote by promising Azerbaijanis instant wealth and victory in Nagorno-Karabakh. No other candidate received more than five per cent of the vote.^[2]

The election of Elchibey, a Soviet dissident who had been imprisoned by the KGB in the 1970s, signaled a break in Communist Party dominance of Azerbaijani politics.^[3] The elections have since been described as the only competitive election in Azerbaijan's post-Soviet history.^[3]

Electoral system

To register, each candidate had to collect at least 20,000 signatures and present them to the Central Election Commission. Heydar Aliyev was unable to run because of a constitutional provision barring candidates over sixty-five years of age.

Campaign

During the campaign, Elchibey pledged constitutional, economic, and cultural reforms would be implemented, according to this plan. His top domestic policy priorities, creation of a national army and a national currency backed by gold reserves, were seen as necessary elements for national sovereignty.^[2]

Etibar Mammadov, Elchibey's main rival in the polls, dropped out of the race a few days before the election, calling for rule by a coalition government and the postponement of balloting until Azerbaijan's state of war with Armenia ended.^[2]

Results


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Abulfaz Elchibey	Azerbaijani Popular Front Party	1,829,448	60.86
	Nizami Suleymanov	Democratic Union of the Intelligentsia of Azerbaijan	1,017,217	33.84
	Yaqub Mamedov	Independent	51,144	1.70
	Ilyas Ismayilov	Social Movement for Democratic Reform in Azerbaijan	20,216	0.67
	Rafig Abdullayev	People's Republic Party	15,646	0.52
Against all			72,099	2.40
Total			3,005,770	100.00

Valid votes			3,005,770	97.07
Invalid/blank votes			90,707	2.93
Total votes			3,096,477	100.00
Source: Nohlen et al.

Aftermath

Despite the new president's intentions, the war in Nagorno-Karabakh dominated politics, and Elchibey and his party steadily lost influence and popular appeal because of continual military losses, a worsening economy, political stalemate, and government corruption.^[2]

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References

↑ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p357 ISBN 0-19-924958-X
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Curtis, Glenn E. (1995). "Azerbaijan: Government and Politics:The Presidential Election of 1992". U.S. Country Studies, Library of Congress . Retrieved August 31, 2008.
1 2 Altstadt, Audrey L. (1997), Parrott, Bruce; Dawisha, Karen (eds.), "Azerbaijan's struggle toward democracy", Conflict, Cleavage, and Change in Central Asia and the Caucasus, Democratization and Authoritarianism in Post-Communist Societies, Cambridge University Press, pp. 110–155, ISBN 978-0-521-59731-9

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[1] Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p357 ISBN 0-19-924958-X

[LOC-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Curtis, Glenn E. (1995). "Azerbaijan: Government and Politics:The Presidential Election of 1992". U.S. Country Studies, Library of Congress . Retrieved August 31, 2008.

[:0-3] 1 2 Altstadt, Audrey L. (1997), Parrott, Bruce; Dawisha, Karen (eds.), "Azerbaijan's struggle toward democracy", Conflict, Cleavage, and Change in Central Asia and the Caucasus, Democratization and Authoritarianism in Post-Communist Societies, Cambridge University Press, pp. 110–155, ISBN 978-0-521-59731-9

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v t e Elections and referendums in Azerbaijan
Presidential elections	1991 1992 1993 1998 2003 2008 2013 2018 2024
Parliamentary elections	1938 1947 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995–96 2000–01 2005 2010 2015 2020
Municipal elections	2009 2011 2014 2019
Referendums	1991 1993 1995 2002 2009 2016
See also: Elections and referendums in the Soviet Union