A constitutional referendum was held in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

on 26 September 2016. Voters were asked whether they approve of 29 constitutional amendments, with a separate vote on each one.Azerbaijan, 26 September 2016: Composition of the Armed Forces
Direct Democracy All 29 amendments were approved by between 89% and 95% of voters. It created the office of the

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

and extended the presidential term from five to seven years.Azerbaijan President Aliyev makes wife Mehriban his deputy
BBC News, 21 February 2017

Background

President Ilham Aliyev issued a decree on 18 July 2016, amending several articles of the constitution. These were reviewed by the Constitutional Court, who approved them on 25 July.Azerbaijani Constitutional Court approves draft amendments to constitution
APA, 25 July 2016 On 26 July Aliyev ordered that a referendum be held, as required by articles 152 and 153 of the constitution.

Results

Aftermath

Following the referendum, President Ilham Aliyev appointed his wife

Mehriban Aliyeva Mehriban Arif gizi Aliyeva (; az, Mehriban Arif qızı Əliyeva Paşayeva, ; born 26 August 1964) is an Azerbaijani politician and physician who is the vice president and First Lady of Azerbaijan. She is married to Ilham Aliyev, the president o ...

as Vice-President.

References

{{Azerbaijani elections 2016 referendums 2016 in Azerbaijan

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

September 2016 events in Asia September 2016 events in Europe