Heydar Aliyev rejects presidency extension

While in the US, President Heydar Aliyev commented on the initiative made in the Milli Majlis (the Azeri parliament) on prolongation of his presidency office. He disapproved the initiative, stating that all must respect the supreme law of the country, the Constitution, which reads that the president is elected for a period of 5 years.

The comments came after, MP Eldar Ibrahimov suggested that the president's term be extended from 5 years to 7. Most CIS countries by making amendments to Constitutions extended the term of office of their presidents, he said. The MP considers it better to hold a referendum than to waste time holding elections.

Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov approved the proposal and asked lawmakers to prepare legal aspects of the issue and to submit it for discussions in the parliament.*