Val ballot boxes have been opened in Azerbaijan for an expedited parliamentary election, the first since the country regained full control over the formerly self-proclaimed region of Nagorno-Karabakh during a swift offensive against ethnic Armenian forces last year. Voting began at 8:00 AM local time (04:00 GMT) on Sunday and will close at 7:00 PM (15:00 GMT). More than 6.4 million people are registered to participate in this election in the oil-rich Central Asian nation.

For the first time in 30 years, elections are being held in Nagorno-Karabakh. Previous elections since the country’s independence from the Soviet Union have not been regarded as fully free or fair. The election for the Milli Mejlis (National Assembly) is not expected to bring significant changes to this body, which is dominated by President Ilham Aliyev’s New Azerbaijan Party (Yeni Azerbaijan Partiyası).

Aliyev has frequently been accused of pursuing a hardline policy and suppressing dissent in Azerbaijan, a country of nearly 10 million people located along the Caspian Sea. Under his leadership, Azerbaijan has experienced economic growth driven by substantial oil and natural gas exports. The 62-year-old leader succeeded his father, Heydar Aliyev, who served as president from 1993 to 2003.

The ruling party holds 69 of the 125 seats in the outgoing parliament, with most of the remaining seats occupied by small pro-government parties or independents. The Musavat Party, a major opposition formation, has nominated 34 candidates for Sunday’s election, but only 25 of them were registered. Another opposition party, the Republican Alternative (Republican Alternative Party), has put forth 12 candidates.

According to the constitution, the election was originally scheduled for November, but Aliyev issued a decree to advance the date as Baku is set to host the United Nations climate negotiations, COP29. This election comes nearly a year after Azerbaijani forces reclaimed the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces supported by Armenia since 1994, during a military operation that resulted in the self-proclaimed government fleeing. Most of the region’s 120,000 Armenian residents fled in the face of the offensive.

Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission reports that 50 organizations have conducted observation missions for the election. The largest observer contingent, from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), is expected to present its preliminary assessment of the election on Monday.