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Seven candidates to vie for Azerbaijani president — Central Election Commission

According to the CEC, seventeen people wanted to take part in the race but ten of them failed to secure the 40,000 signatures needed to become an official candidate

BAKU, January 9. /TASS/. Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission has officially recognized four more candidates for the country’s presidential race, bringing the total number of registered contenders to seven.

The four new candidates include parliament members Gudrat Gasanguliyev and Fazil Mustafa, former leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Fuad Aliyev, and leader of the Great Azerbaijan party Elshad Musayev.

Earlier, the Central Election Commission recognized incumbent President Ilham Aliyev, who was nominated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan (New Azerbaijan) party, as well as parliament members Zakhid Orudj (self-nominee) and Razi Nurullayev (National Front party leader).

Gasanguliyev, nominated by the United Popular Front of Azerbaijan party, ran for president in 2003 but garnered only three percent of the vote. Mustafa (leader of the Great Order Party) and Fuad Aliyev (self-nominee) also took part in the presidential race in 2008, winning 2.47% and 0.78% of the vote, respectively.

January 8 was the deadline for potential candidates to submit documents to the Central Election Commission marking their intention to run. According to the Central Election Commission, seventeen people wanted to take part in the race but ten of them failed to secure the 40,000 signatures needed to become an official candidate.

On December 7, Aliyev signed an executive order to hold an extraordinary presidential election on February 7, 2024 instead of October 2025. The reasons for the move were not disclosed. Under Azerbaijani law, the president is elected for a term of seven years with no limit on the number of terms in office.

The latest presidential election was held in Azerbaijan in April 2018. Aliyev won in a landslide victory with 86.22% of the vote. Voter turnout was 74.5%

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