The government of President Ilham Aliyev enjoys popular legitimacy on improving living standards in the country, S&P said.

The rating agency today affirmed the BBB-/A-3 long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings on Azerbaijan, with a stable outlook.

Aliyev won a third term in office in presidential elections in October, getting almost 85 percent of the vote, according to official results. 

Despite the improvement in the living standards, material well-being on its own may not be a long-term guarantor of political stability, S&P said.

“Above all, we believe that decision-making remains heavily centralized and insufficiently transparent, which can lead to less predictability in policymaking and generate public grievances. Similarly, the independent institutions, accountability, and transparency, which are needed to maintain an efficient market economy, are mostly still in the early stages of development.”

ANN.Az