Azerbaijan's highest court on Monday approved an initiative by President Ilham Aliyev to extend the head of state's term of office to seven years from five, a step his critics see as illegal and undemocratic.
Ratifying an extension in the presidential term in the oil- and gas-exporting, ex-Soviet republic will require constitutional amendments and a referendum, the constitutional court said in a statement.
These changes would allow Aliyev, in power since 2003, to further tighten his grip on power after his third term ends in 2018. A 2009 referendum scrapped Azerbaijan's two-term presidential limit, effectively enabling Aliyev to rule for life, provided he keeps being re-elected.
"In Azerbaijan, three years in every five are dedicated to elections (presidential, parliamentary and local), and every poll needs a year of preparations," told Syavush Novruzov, executive secretary of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party.
"That's why we think the president's proposal must be approved."
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