Azerbaijan

The opposition was dealt a severe blow in the November 6 parliamentary elections, failing to dent the dominant position of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) in the government. We expect the main opposition parties to struggle to recapture the momentum they appeared to have before the vote in the foreseeable future, which will not aid the advance of democracy in the republic. A cabinet shuffle by President Ilham Aliev is likely to increase the power of those loyal to the president before the vote on his position in 2008, and we do not expect anything but minor steps towards

To read the full article, please choose one of the following options: