Azerbaijan to hold surprise presidential election in early February

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has called an early presidential election for February 7, according to a document published by his office.

Aliyev decided "to call a snap election of the President of Azerbaijan" and asked the central election commission to ensure that the vote takes place "on February 7, 2024," the decree said on Thursday.

Aliyev, 61, was last re-elected in 2018 for a seven-year term.

Elections had previously been scheduled for 2025. A pollster recently said 75 percent of the population approves of Aliyev's handling of the conflict. Aliyev has ruled the energy-rich country since 2003, when he succeeded his father, Heydar.

In 2009, Azerbaijan adopted constitutional amendments that removed the two-term limit to the presidential mandate. In 2016, he appointed his wife Mehriban Aliyeva as his first vice president.