Azerbaijan is holding a referendum on Wednesday that is likely to give President Ilham Aliyev the chance to rule the country for life despite opposition calls for a boycott.
In all, voters will decide on 41 amendments to 29 articles of Azerbaijan’s constitution, touching on issues ranging from the right to privacy to freedom of media. Amendments with a majority “yes” vote will be adopted, provided that 25 percent of Azerbaijan’s more than 4.9 million voters take part in the referendum.
Preliminary results will be known in 48 hours.
The Aliyev family has dominated the tightly controlled former Soviet republic for decades, first under the late Heydar Aliyev as Communist leader and president, then his son Ilham since 2003.
The ruling Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party wants to lift the country’s two-term presidential limit so 47-year-old Aliyev can keep running for election after his second term ends in 2013.
