 |
|---|
 Azerbaijanportal |
A constitutional referendum was held in Azerbaijan on 24 August 2002. [1] The referendum was initiated by the authoritarian Heydar Aliyev regime. Voters were asked eight separate questions, all of which were approved with at least 96% voting in favour. The referendum was marred by fraud. [2]
On 22 June 2002 President Heydar Aliyev proposed 39 amendments to 23 articles of the constitution. In accordance with articles 3 and 152, the amendments required a referendum to take place, with a turnout at least 50%. [3]
The proposal was approved by the Constitutional Court on 21 June. On 24 July the Central Election Commission ruled that the 39 amendments would be covered by eight separate questions, despite demands from the opposition that each amendment be voted on separately. [3] On 30 August the commission made a ruling that absolute voting figures would not be published, only the percentages. [3]
On 29 July the National Assembly voted by 94 to 5 to adopt the amendments. [3]
| 1. Changes due to liabilities of Azerbaijan Republic to European Council | I. In Article 95, 6th and 19th items to be worded as follow: "6) Election of authoritative representative on human rights of Azerbaijan Republic on the representation of the President of Azerbaijan Republic"; "19) amnesty". |
| II. Item 14 of Article 109 to be worded as follow: "14) shall give representation on election of authoritative representative on human rights of Azerbaijan Republic to Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan Republic". | |
| III. To substitute the words "Economic Court" in Articles 95, 109, 125 and 128 for "Appellate courts". | |
| IV. In Article 130: - to remove the 7th item from part III, the 8th and 9th items to be considered items 7 and 9; - parts V, VI and VII to be considered parts VIII, IX and Õ accordingly; to add parts V, VI and VII in the following wording: "V. Everyone, in the course of the law, may lodge a complaint to the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan Republic regarding the standard acts of legislation and executive power authorities, municipal and judicial acts for decision of issues indicated in items 1-7 of part III of this article by the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan Republic with the purpose of restoration of violated human rights and liberty". "VI. The courts in the course of the law of Azerbaijan Republic, may apply to the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan Republic for interpretation of the Constitution and laws of Azerbaijan Republic in view of issues on exercise of human rights and liberty" "VII. The authoritative representative on human rights of Azerbaijan Republic may inquire the Constitutional Court about the standard acts of legislation and executive power authorities, municipal and judicial acts for decision of issues indicated in items 1-7 of part III of this article by the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan Republic". | |
| V. Article 132 to be worded as follow: "Article 132. The appellate courts of Azerbaijan Republic I. The appellate courts of Azerbaijan Republic shall be the highest legal body on considering disputes relating to their competence under the law. II. Judges of the appellate courts of Azerbaijan Republic shall be appointed by the Milli Mejlis of the Azerbaijan Republic on the representation of the President of Azerbaijan Republic. | |
| 2. Changes due to joining of Azerbaijan Republic to European Convention on protection of human rights and liberty | I. To remove the words "fulfilment of the order given by the authoritative official during the emergency situation and martial law" from Article 27 part IV. |
| II. To remove the word "only" from Article 71. | |
| III. In Article 155: to add the words "or their annulment" after the word "changes"; the words "on restriction of items" to be replaced with the words "on deprivation of human rights and liberty or on restrictions of higher degree than those provided by international agreements supported by Azerbaijan Republic". | |
| IV. In Article 125 part IV the words "in the implementation of Judicial power with the exception of the Constitutional legal procedure" to be replaced with the words "in criminal legal procedure". | |
| V. In Article 76 part II the words "alternative military service" to be replaced with the words "alternative service". | |
| 3. Changes due to improvement of referendum conducting | I. To add part III to Article 3 in the following wording: "III. Referendum cannot be conducted on the following issues: 1) taxes and state budget; 2) amnesty and pardon; 3) election, appointment or approval of the officials, whose election, appointment or approval are under the jurisdiction of legislation bodies and (or) executive power accordingly". |
| 4. Changes due to elections to Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan Republic | I. In Article 83 the words "and proportionate election systems" to be replaced with the words "election systems". |
| II. To remove item 6 from Article 89 part I. | |
| 5. Changes due to election of the President of Azerbaijan Republic | I. In Article 101: - in part II the words "by the majority of two thirds" to be replaced with the words "by the majority of more than half"; - in part IV to remove the word "simple" |
| II. In Article 102 number "7" to be replaced with number "14". | |
| 6. Changes due to improvement of public authorities activity | I. The Article 95 part III to be worded as follow: "III. Decrees are also adopted on other issues being under the jurisdiction of Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan Republic according to the present Constitution of Azerbaijan Republic; on the issues connected with organizational management of Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan Republic; on the issues, with respect to which Milli Mejlis should express its opinion". |
| II. In the first paragraph of Article 88 part I the words "two regular Sessions" to be replaced with the words "two regular autumnal and vernal Sessions"; the second, third and fourth paragraphs to be removed; in the sixth paragraph the words "until February 1" to be replaced with the words "until March 10". | |
| III. In Article 105: - in part I the words "the Chairman of Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan Republic" to be replaced with the words "the Prime-minister of Azerbaijan Republic"; - in part II the words " In case of resignation of the Chairman of Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan Republic" to be replaced with the words "In case of resignation of the Prime-minister of Azerbaijan Republic", and the words "shall be fulfilled by the Prime-Minister of Azerbaijan Republic" to be replaced with the words "shall be fulfilled by the Chairman of Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan Republic"; - in part III the words "by the Prime-minister of Azerbaijan Republic" to be replaced with the words "by the Chairman of Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan Republic". | |
| IV. Article 158 to be worded as follow: "Article 158. Restriction of Initiative on Introducing Additions to the Constitution of Azerbaijan Republic In light of the provisions reflected in the first section of the present Constitution, no additions can be proposed to the Constitution of Azerbaijan". | |
| 7. Changes due to conducting of judicial reforms | I. In the first part of Article 96 after the words "Supreme Court" to add the words "Office of Public Prosecutor of Azerbaijan Republic", in parts II and IV after the words "Supreme Court" to add the words "Office of Public Prosecutor of Azerbaijan Republic", and in part V after the words "Supreme Court" to add the words "Office of Public Prosecutor of Azerbaijan Republic"; |
| II. in the first part of Article 131 the words "it shall exercise control over the activity of general and specialized courts in the order specified by the Law" to be replaced with the words "it shall put justice into practice in appeal order". | |
| III. in the first part of Article 133 after the words "in order" to add the words "and in cases of"; to remove the words "accurate and uniform". | |
| 8. Other changes | I. To add part VI to Article 134 with the following wording: "VI. The Constitution of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic shall be represented by the President of Azerbaijan Republic and approved by the Constitutional Law". |
| II. Part III of Article 142 to be worded as follow: "III. Principles of municipality status shall be determined by the present Constitution, and rules of elections to municipality shall be determined by the Law". | |
| III. In part III of Article 149 the words "executive power" to be replaced with the words "legislative, executive power" | |
| Source: Direct Democracy [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] | |
| Question | For | Against | Invalid | Total votes | Registered voters | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question 1 | 97.07 | 2.63 | 0.28 | 3,899,242 | 4,407,417 | 88.47 |
| Question 2 | 97.01 | 2.69 | 0.30 | |||
| Question 3 | 96.82 | 2.69 | 0.35 | |||
| Question 4 | 96.77 | 2.69 | 0.41 | |||
| Question 5 | 96.99 | 2.73 | 0.28 | |||
| Question 6 | 96.79 | 2.92 | 0.29 | |||
| Question 7 | 96.79 | 2.80 | 0.41 | |||
| Question 8 | 96.53 | 2.80 | 0.41 | |||
| Source: Direct Democracy | ||||||
The Politics of Azerbaijan takes places an authoritarian system where elections are not free and fair, political opponents are repressed, civil rights are limited, human rights abuses are widespread, corruption is rampant, and power is concentrated in the hands of President Ilham Aliyev and his extended family.
A popular initiative is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. The hurdles the petition has to meet vary between countries, typically signatures by a certain number of registered voters. In direct initiative, the proposition is put directly to a plebiscite or referendum, also called a Popular initiated Referendum or citizen-initiated referendum. In an indirect initiative, the proposed measure is first referred to the legislature, and then if the proposed law is rejected by the legislature, the government may be forced to put the proposition to a referendum. The proposition may be on federal level law, statute, constitutional amendment, charter amendment, local ordinance, obligate the executive or legislature to consider the subject by submitting it to the order of the day. In contrast, a popular referendum that allows voters only to repeal existing legislation.
A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, they can be appended to the constitution as supplemental additions, thus changing the frame of government without altering the existing text of the document.
Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev was an Azerbaijani politician who was the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to October 2003, and a Soviet party boss in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1969 onwards.
The New Azerbaijan Party is the ruling political party in Azerbaijan, founded on 21 November 1992 under the leadership of Heydar Aliyev. After his election as President of Azerbaijan on 3 October 1993, and the party's victory at 1995 parliamentary elections, YAP became the ruling party, a position it has held since. President Ilham Aliyev has been chairman of YAP since its 3rd congress held on 26 March 2005.
The president of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state of Azerbaijan. The Constitution states that the president is the embodiment of executive power, commander-in-chief, "representative of Azerbaijan in home and foreign policies", and "shall have the right of immunity [from prosecution]." The president rules through his executive office, the Presidential Administration, consisting of a group of secretaries and departmental ministers. Additionally, there is a Cabinet of Ministers regarding economic and social policy and a Security Council regarding foreign, military, and judicial matters.
After its independence from the Soviet Union, elections in Azerbaijan have frequently been affected by electoral fraud and other unfair election practices, such as holding opposition politicians as political prisoners. Since 1993, Heydar Aliyev and his son Ilham Aliyev have been continuously in power.
In Australia, referendums are public votes held on important issues where the electorate may approve or reject a certain proposal. In contemporary usage, polls conducted on non-constitutional issues are known as plebiscites, with the term referendum being reserved solely for votes on constitutional changes, which is legally required to make a change to the Constitution of Australia.
A constitutional referendum was held in Kyrgyzstan on 21 October 2007, following the constitutional crisis caused by amendments passed since the Tulip Revolution in 2005 being invalidated by the Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan on 14 September 2007. Voters were asked whether questions on a new constitution and electoral law. Both were approved by over 95% of voters.
The Constitution of Azerbaijan was adopted on 12 November 1995 by popular referendum. This Constitution was the first Constitution of independent Azerbaijan.
A constitutional referendum was held in Azerbaijan on 18 March 2009. The referendum, initiated by the authoritarian Ilham Aliyev regime, consisted of 29 measures. The most controversial were a measure to abolish presidential term limits, enabling Aliyev to run for president beyond two terms, and a measure to greatly restrict press freedom.
Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev is an Azerbaijani politician who is the fourth and current president of Azerbaijan. The son and second child of former Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev, Aliyev became the country's president on 31 October 2003, after a two-month term as prime minister of Azerbaijan, through a presidential election defined by irregularities shortly before his father's death. He was reelected for a second term in 2008 and was allowed to run in elections indefinitely in 2013 and 2018 due to the 2009 constitutional referendum, which removed term limits for presidents. Throughout his electoral campaign, Aliyev was a member of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, which he has headed since 2005.
A constitutional referendum was held in Seychelles on 15 November 1992. Although the proposed new constitution received the support of 54.6% of voters, it failed to pass the 60% threshold required for adoption. Subsequently, a second constitutional commission was created and a second draft put to a referendum the following year.
A constitutional referendum was held in Azerbaijan on 12 November 1995 alongside the first round of parliamentary elections. Voters were asked to vote for or against a constitutional draft publicly released several days before the referendum.
A constitutional referendum was held in the Federated States of Micronesia on 27 August 2002. Voters were asked whether they approved of 14 separate amendments to the country's constitution. To be approved, the proposal required at least 75% of voters in at least three of the four states to vote in favour. Ultimately all 14 proposals were rejected, as none passed the 75% threshold in any state.
Presidential elections were held in Azerbaijan on 9 October 2013. The result was a victory for incumbent President Ilham Aliyev, who received a reported 85% of the vote, whilst leading opposition candidate Jamil Hasanli finished second with a reported 6% of the vote.
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This article summarises referendum laws and practice in various countries.
A constitutional referendum was held in Azerbaijan on 26 September 2016. Voters were asked whether they approved of 29 constitutional amendments, with a separate vote on each one. All 29 amendments were approved by between 89% and 95% of voters. It created the office of the Vice President and extended the presidential term from five to seven years.
A nineteen-part referendum was held in the Northern Mariana Islands on 2 March 1996. Voters were asked whether they approved of constitutional amendments of each chapter, with a separate vote on each. All amendments were rejected.
A constitutional referendum was held in Liberia on 8 December 2020 alongside Senate elections and two by-elections to the House of Representatives. It had been planned for 13 October, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Voters were asked whether they approved of eight amendments to the constitution, voting separately on each one. Although a majority of valid votes were in favour for each proposal, the two-thirds quorum was not met for any proposal.
| Presidential elections | |
|---|---|
| Parliamentary elections | |
| Municipal elections | |
| Referendums | |
