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President of Azerbaijan dismisses parliament, snap elections scheduled for September 1

The parliament of Azerbaijan includes 125 lawmakers, elected for a five-year term during universal direct elections

BAKU, June 28. /TASS/. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev dismissed the Milli Mejlis (the parliament) and scheduled snap parliamentary elections for September 1.

"Guided by part 1 of Article 98.1 and point 1 of Article 109 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, I hereby decree: dismiss the Milli Mejlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Schedule snap elections to Milli Mejlis for September 1, 2024," the presidential decree says.

On June 21, the parliament of Azerbaijan addressed the president with an initiative to schedule snap parliamentary elections. The lawmakers justified their decision by the fact that the COP29 UN Climate Change Conference and other major international events will take place in November this year, when elections were supposed to happen.

On June 24, the President of Azerbaijan sent an inquiry to the Constitutional Court asking to consider the compliance of such option with the republic’s basic law. On Thursday, the court ruled that the dismissal of the parliament would be legitimate.

The parliament of Azerbaijan includes 125 lawmakers, elected for a five-year term during universal direct elections. The current parliament was formed after February 9, 2020 snap elections. Under the constitution, the duties of a parliament, elected during snap elections, may last less than five years.

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