At stake in this Referendum:

• The referendum will ask voters to vote on 23 constitutional amendments approved by the Constitutional Court.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Heydar ALIYEV
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Artur RASIZADE
• Assembly: Azerbaijan has a unicameral National Assembly (Milli Mejlis) with 125 seats.*

* If the relevant provision is passed, the number of seats in the National Assembly would be reduced to 100.

Main provisions in the Referendum:

• Referendum on Constitutional changes
  • If the President resigns or is unable to finish out the elected term, the Prime Minister will assume the duties of head of state for a three month period preceding elections. Currently, the Speaker of Parliament assumes the role of head of state in such a scenario.
  • Candidates will only need 50% plus one vote to be elected president in the first round. Candidates currently need to obtain 2/3 of the first round votes to win the presidency.
  • The Constitutional Court will have fourteen days to release the outcome of Presidential elections, up from the current seven days.
  • All candidates to parliament will be elected from single-member districts. Currently, 100 are elected in this manner and 25 are elected from a party-list proportional system.
  • The mandate that parliamentary deputies must give up their seat if their party ceases to exist or is barred will be abolished.
  • Other minor changes to the Constitution, including changes to the procedures of the Constitutional Court, the number of issues eligible for referendum, the role of the Office of the Public Prosecutor, and mere changes of language.

Note: The 23 amendments were divided into 8 questions on the referendum ballot. All 8 questions were passed:

• Changes regarding the country's liabilities to the European Council
  • 97.07% voted Yes
• Changes regarding the country's accession to the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Liberty
  • 97.01% voted Yes
• Changes regarding the improvement of conducting referendums
  • 96.82% voted Yes
• Changes regarding elections to the National Assembly
  • 96.77% voted Yes
• Changes regarding Presidential elections
  • 96.99% voted Yes
• Changes regarding the improvement of  public authority activities
  • 96.79% voted Yes
• Changes regarding judicial reforms
  • 96.79% voted Yes
• Other changes
  • 96.53% voted Yes

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 8,171,950 (2002)
• Registered Voters: 4,200,000 ( approx.)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 4,168,633 (2002)

·         Is Azerbaijan a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Azerbaijan ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (10 July 1995)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: N/A

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 13 (as of 2000 elections) 

·         Human Development Index Position: 78 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Azerbaijan a signatory to CRPD: Yes (9 January 2008)

·         Has Azerbaijan ratified CRPD: Yes (28 January 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 1,225,792 (est.)