2018 Azerbaijani presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Azerbaijan on 11 April 2018. The elections were the first since the 2016 constitutional referendum, which extended the presidential term from five to seven years. Incumbent President Ilham Aliyev was re-elected president for a seven-year term. The elections, which took place in an authoritarian context, were characterized as fraudulent. Major opposition parties were disqualified before the election. Eight candidates ran for the presidency, although there were doubts as to whether the opposition candidates were genuine candidates. Background Article 178 §1 of the electoral law sets the third Wednesday of October as the date for presidential elections, which would have meant the elections were held on 17 October 2018. However, the vote was unexpectedly brought forward by a presidential decree on 5 February 2018. Azerbaijan's Central Election Commission (CEC) held a poll on 1 February 2018 on the preparation and delivery of double cabins for the voting room. Electoral system The President of Azerbaijan is elected using the two-round system; if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a run-off is held. Polls opened nationwide at 08:00 and closed at 19:00. Candidates Ilham Aliyev – incumbent President of Azerbaijan since 2003,