On 10 March, the Azerbaijani Parliament (Mili Majlis) announced its composition.
Sahiba Gafarova was appointed for the post of speaker of the Milli Majlis. Ali Huseynli whose candidacy was nominated by the New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) was elected as the first Vice-Speaker, Adil Aliyev (candidate of the non-party deputies) and Fazail Ibrahimli (candidate of the parties making up the parliamentary minority) have been elected as second and third Vice-Speakers in the parliament.
Sahiba Gafarova is the second woman appointed for the highest position in the Azerbaijani parliament since the founding of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The first one was Elmira Gafarova, who held her term from 5 February 1991 to 5 March 1992.
On 9 February, parliamentary elections were held in Azerbaijan. A day after, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) made a joint statement on the regularity of elections in the country, stating that “the restrictive legislation and political environment prevented genuine competition in Azerbaijan’s early parliamentary elections.“ (Caucasus Watch reported). The EU spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Peter Stano, the US Embassy and the Russian Foreign Ministry also issued statements in regard to the elections (Caucasus Watch reported).
