Azerbaijan To Hold Snap Parliamentary Elections On September 1

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on June 28 dissolved the South Caucasus nation's parliament and set September 1 for elections, moving the vote up from November. The ruling New Azerbaijan Party initiated the move last week saying that events to be held in the country, including the UN climate conference (COP29), warranted moving the date. The Constitutional Court approved the change on June 27. Opposition politicians and parties criticized the move as a tool to falsify the elections' results. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, click here.