Azerbaijan is a country located in Asia and is bordered with four countries which are Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Iran and also has a coast along the Caspian Sea but no wider access to the world’s ocean, the Caspian Sea gives them access to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The country also has a landlocked exclave, which is an autonomous republic with its own constitution and elected parliament, if including this Azerbaijan also borders a small part of Turkey. The country was once independent but then was a part of the Soviet Union like many of the countries surrounding it, but it later again became independent in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. As I have stated on the Armenia Government Blogpost, Azerbaijan was involved in a war within the disputed land of Nagorno-Karabakh, with Armenia against them, this dispute from time to time flares up again. Azerbaijan’s capital city of Baku is located on the countries Caspian Sea coast, the city has a number of old and new landmarks, including a walled old city containing the palace of the Shirvanshahs and the Flame Towers, three skyscrapers covered with LED screens.
Featured photo: Flag and Map edited together. Map by Google Maps.
As of 2017 Azerbaijan’s population is coming up to 9.900 million and their currency is the Azerbaijani Manat which is 1 Manat to 0.47 Pound Sterling and 1 Manat to 0.59 US Dollars as of typing this.
Government Type
Azerbaijan is a Semi-Presidential Republic meaning it has a President and Prime Minister as leaders and that the President is elected. There is also a parliament elected by the people that votes on legislation. Azerbaijan is a Unitary state and therefore all the country is administered by one government and parliament, although it is possible for the government to set up devolved government and parliaments if they so choose.
Although there does seem to be an exception to this with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic that has its own constitution and elected parliament. The Autonomous Republic is an exclave of Azerbaijan. Its laws though cannot come into conflict with Azerbaijan’s main government.
The Executive Government
The President is Head of State and the Prime Minister is Head of Government. The President is elected by the people for a 7-year term and the President appoints a Vice-President. After parliamentary elections the President also nominates a Prime Minister who is then voted on by the Unicameral Parliament.
The President has a number of executive powers at his disposal including assignment of elections, approval of state budget, military doctrine, economic and social programs. The President can also nominate judges for a number of courts that are confirmed by the Unicameral Parliament. Forms the Security Council, calls referendums, can pardon criminals and give awards. He also signs bills into law passed by the Unicameral Parliament. He is also the Commander-in-Chief of Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces. The President can also call an extraordinary session of the National Assembly and can also call Martial Law or State of Emergency, although the National Assembly can overturn this if they do not think it needed or that the need for it is no longer needed.
The President can return to the National Assembly if he disagrees with signing a bill into law, but he can be overruled by the National Assembly given they are able to get at least twelve more votes where the bill would then automatically become law.
The Prime Minister chairs the Cabinet of Ministers, members of the Cabinet are appointed by the President who heads the Cabinet of Ministers, the Cabinet of Ministers are appointed after a Presidential Election. The Cabinet handles the running of the country’s affairs, implementation and announcement of government policies and also handling of foreign agenda.
The Legislative Government
The Legislative form of government is decided upon by the Unicameral Parliament, which is the National Assembly, also known as the Milli Majlis. It is a single equal house of members and once laws are passed, they are moved on to the President to be signed into law. The house is made up of 125 elected members. The Speaker of the House makes sure that rules are followed and also determines agenda. Laws/bills are made by Committees within the parliament. If at least 43 members of the National Assembly vote for an extraordinary session then it must be held.
The house can also vote on declaring war and ending war and has powers to hold the President to account. Currently Azerbaijan is heavily dominated by a single party, many Independents are also often elected but most of which lean towards the ruling party. Some international organizations have complained on the handling of elections, asking for better electoral regulation for a fairer democratic system.
Changes to the country’s constitution must be confirmed in a referendum.
The Electoral System
Presidential Elections are held every 5-years and the President is elected by a popular vote requiring at least 50% of the vote to win, if no candidate gets to the threshold then a 2nd round is held with the two highest voted candidates from the 1st round and the 2nd round is won by simple majority. The position is limited to two terms by its holder. To run for President a candidate must have citizenship, be at least 35-years old, live in the country for at least 10 years and have a higher education(University degree), the candidate cannot have dual citizenship, have obligations to other states or have been convicted of a serious crime.
The Milli Majilis is elected every 5-years. The 125 members are elected from single-seat constituencies in the first-past the post system requiring a simple majority for a candidate to win a seat. Multiple parties are allowed but poor electoral regulation is blamed by opposition parties for not allowing many candidates to run. Candidates must have citizenship, be at least 25 years old, not have dual citizenship or liabilities to other states or have been convicted of serious crime, they may also not hold other executive or judicial offices. Azerbaijan’s electoral system did also used to incorporate a limited proportional representation system, but this has since been removed after a 2009 constitutional change.
To vote a person must have citizenship of the country and be at least 18 years of age. Voting is not compulsory.
Thank you for reading and I hope you learned something and/or found this interesting. This brings us to the end of the A countries and now we begins the Bs, starting with The Bahamas.
Check out the previous A countries…
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