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Azerbaijan
Women in decision-making positions
39%
Members of local deliberative bodies are women (5,849 elected women)
No woman is Head of State or Government
19%
Parliamentarians are women
0%
Ministers are women

Government organization

Azerbaijan is a unitary republic with three spheres of government: central, intermediate (the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic), and local.

A tier of central government, followed by a tier of intermediate government (the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic), followed by one tier of 1,607 municipalities).
Central government
  • Head of State: The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan is directly elected by voters.
  • Head of Government: The Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan is appointed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, with the consent of the National Assembly.
  • Legislative body: The National Assembly (Milli Majlis) is a unicameral legislature whose members are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Cabinet of Ministers consists of the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the ministers, and the heads of other central organs of executive power. Members of the Cabinet of Ministers are appointed by the President.
Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic government
  • Legislative body: The Ali Majlis of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic is a unicameral legislature whose members are directly elected by voters of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic. The Chairperson of the Ali Majlis is elected by and from the Ali Majlis to serve as the supreme official person of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic.
  • Executive body: The Cabinet of Ministers of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic is composed of the Prime Minister of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, deputies, ministers, and heads of other central bodies of executive power of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic. Members of the Cabinet of Ministers are proposed by the Prime Minister, to be given a vote of confidence by the Ali Majlis. The Prime Minister of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic is appointed by the Ali Majlis, on the proposal of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Local government
  • Organization: Local government is organized into one tier of 1,607 municipalities.
  • Competencies: Local government is responsible for approving regulations, determining local taxes and fees, approving the local budget and accounts, approving and implementing local programs of social security and social development, economic development, and local ecological programs, as well as owning, charging, and using municipal property.

Overview of local government

Local government composition
Municipalities

Deliberative body: The municipal council is composed of 5-19 elected members. The chairperson of the municipality is elected by and from the municipal council to preside over it; the chairperson of the municipality is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The municipal executive body is composed of the chairperson of the municipality, the deputy chairperson, and the heads of executive departments within the municipality. The deputy chairperson is elected by and from the municipal council; the heads of executive departments are appointed by the chairperson of the municipality. Heads of local executive power in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic are appointed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the basis of joint presentations by the Speaker of the Ali Majlis and the Prime Minister of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic.

Local government elections
Electoral system

Electoral system for municipal councils: majority/plurality (block vote)

  • Municipal council members are elected using a relative majority electoral system in multi-mandate constituencies. The voter shall mark the square opposite to the surnames of candidates they wish to vote for, and the number of such marks should be equal or less than the number of the relevant municipality's members. The candidates who participate in the elections and collect the majority of votes shall be considered elected to a relevant municipality.

Electoral system for chairpersons: no direct elections

  • The Chairperson is elected by and from the municipal council.

Source: Election Code, 2003 (amended through 2020), articles 236 and 238

Quotas
  • Gender quotas: No
  • Additional quotas: No
Term of elections
  • Term length: 5 years
  • Last local elections: 2019
  • Next local elections: 2024
Electoral management body

Central Election Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan

National legal framework on local government
National legal framework
  • Constitution of the Azerbaijan Republic, 1995 (amended through 2016);
  • Constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Nakhichevan, 2007 (amended through 2018);
  • Election Code, 2003 (amended through 2020);
  • Law on the Territorial Structure and Administrative Territorial Division of Azerbaijan, 2000 (amended through 2016);
  • Law on the Status of Municipalities, 1999 (amended through 2021).
Constitutional provisions on local government

According to Articles 142 and 146 of the Constitution of the Azerbaijan Republic of 1995 (amended through 2016), “local government in rural areas and towns, villages and settlements is exercised by municipalities. Municipalities are formed on the basis of elections. Municipalities are independent to exercise their power; this does not exclude their responsibility before the citizens residing in the territory of the municipality. The regulations and procedure for the selection of the municipality members, the termination of their powers, as well as the regulation for early dissolution of municipalities shall be laid down by law.”

Legislative provisions on local government

The National Assembly is responsible for establishing the national legal framework on local government. The key piece of legislation which regulates local government is the Law on the Status of Municipalities of 1999 (amended through 2020). According to Article 1 of the Law on the Status of Municipalities, “local self-government in the Republic of Azerbaijan is a system of organizing citizens’ activity that grants to its citizens the ability to resolve important local issues independently and freely and to implement a part of state issues, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, for the sake of interests of local population. These rights are performed by meetings of citizens or collegial bodies (municipalities) consisting of municipal members, who are elected on the basis of general, equal, and direct right to vote, by independent, in-person, and secret ballots.”

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2023.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 3 October 2023.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2023.

4. IPU and UN Women: Data on share of women in ministerial positions as of 1 January 2023.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2023.