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Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev has appointed his wife, Mehriban Aliyeva, as first vice president of the country, news agency APA reports.

The agency reminds that according to constitutional changes and amendments approved in referendum held in Azerbaijan on September 2016, Azerbaijan Republic’s first and second vice presidents are appointed and dismissed by the country’s president.

Commenting on Mehriban Aliyeva’s appointment, executive secretary of opposition movement ReAl, Natig Jafarli, told news agency Turan that it was a quite predictable decision.

In his turn, the head of Center for Strategic Thought, Isa Gambar, noted with regret that experts’ predictions regarding the senseless referendum have become a reality.

“We stated at that time that the aim of the referendum was legitimizing the family power in the country. This decision takes Azerbaijan back to medieval times and feudalism and will lead to escalation of the relations among the ruling elite and society in general,” he said.

Gambar also noted that that the international community’s response to the appointment will be negative.
Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (APFP) leader Ali Kerimli also thinks that that the constitutional changes were aimed at handing the power to a family member. The politician highlighted that Mehriban Aliyeva’s appointment as the first vice president is disrespect to the Azerbaijani nation. It is an official measure to establish absolute monarchy in Azerbaijan.

“The authorities should resolve social and economic problems in the country and open the way to prosperity for the nation. 500 people committed suicide in the country in a year. What does the head of the country do? In order to appoint his wife as the first vice president and to hand the power to her, whenever it is convenient, he distorts the Constitution changing its content by a false referendum,” Kerimli said.

According to him, the authorities want to establish monarchy in Azerbaijan. Kerimli also highlighted that the president’s family has been ruling in the country for more than 40 years.

In his turn, head of Musavat party, Arif Hajili, called the appointment a politically wrong decision, because “the regime cannot achieve its goal and strengthen its power.”

“Not only will the Azerbaijani society and opposition, but also several authorities be dissatisfied with this appointment, which will lead to tension inside the regime. That is why I consider today’s appointment a step, which will have a serious influence on political processes in the near future. Dissatisfaction is increasing among the Azerbaijani society,” Hajili said.

Meanwhile, commenting on Mehriban Aliyeva’s appointment as Azerbaijan’s first vice president, Currenttime emphasizes that Aliyev’s family has repeatedly been involved in corruption scandals.

It is reminded that in the so-called “Panama archive,” journalists discovered that Azerbaijani president’s family controls the richest gold mines in the country. Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) found out that the Aliyevs spend their holidays on the yachts of the Azerbaijani oilmen at the expense of the state budget.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reports that Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has appointed his wife as first vice president, the latest move seen as tightening the family's grip on the oil-rich Caspian nation. 

According to the article, Mehriban Aliyeva’s appointment follows constitutional changes made after a tightly managed referendum last year, which introduced the powerful position of first vice president, the second most senior official in the country.

It is noted that Aliyeva, 52, has been an MP for the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party since 2005 and head of the influential Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

Born into the powerful Pashayev family, Aliyeva has sometimes been seen as a possible successor to her husband, who took over in 2003 after the death of his father Heydar, a former KGB officer and Communist-era boss.

It is highlighted that Azerbaijan's opposition angrily criticized Aliyeva's elevation as undemocratic and called it a ploy to cement the Aliyev family's dynastic rule.

“The president, 55, cruised to a third five-year term against limited opposition in 2013, extending his family's rule into a third decade,” the author writes.

Besides, activists have raised concerns over Azerbaijan's poor rights record, with Human Rights Watch in May blasting the country for a ruthless crackdown that has seen political activists and critical journalists jailed.

Al Jazeera notes that known for her love of luxury, Aliyeva featured prominently in US diplomatic cables published by Wikileaks, one of which dubbed her "a first lady, too, in fashion".
“First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva appears to have had substantial cosmetic surgery, presumably overseas, and wears dresses that would be considered provocative even in the Western world,” the leaked 2010 cable said.

In her turn, Azerbaijani expert on media freedom Arzu Geybullayeva writes on Global Voices that while the news itself was thoroughly predictable, some of the reactions from social media users in a country where freedom of expression is subject to regular government crackdowns were nothing short of priceless. 

One of Azerbaijani bloggers wrote on his Facebook page: “Soon when the Aliyevs sit down for dinner it will be covered as ‘the country's leadership just had a meeting on security’”.

Some wrote that it was a late Valentine's present, arguing instead that it was an early present for International Women's Day, which is marked on March 8. Others more in the know figured it must have been President Aliyev's gift for their wedding anniversary, which just happens to be on February 22.

However, Azerbaijani analysts saw the appointment as marking the official beginning of one-family rule in Azerbaijan, as well as a further darkening of the country's human rights prospects.

Meanwhile, the Caucasian Knot writes that according to Azerbaijani opposition, recent mass arrests of activists were aimed at minimizing protests in the society regarding Mehriban Aliyeva’s appointment as the first vice president of the country.

“Wave of arrests of opposition activists preceded Mehriban Aliyeva’s appointment as Azerbaijan’s first vice president. Not only members of opposition organizations, but also relatives of political emigrants face arrest,” prominent journalist Khadija Ismayilova said.

In his turn, former US ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Kauzlarich called the appointment of the First Lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva to the position of vice president a step towards the development of real monarchy in the country.

"This latest news tells me that Azerbaijan has decided on a non-democratic path. This appointment reminds one of a monarchy. In a monarchy, people are appointed to positions not because of their personal merits or traits, but because of their blood ties with the head of state. Those who have been observing these processes from the sideline can easily see this. The Aliyevs had wide-reaching powers even before this step. She is the head of numerous organizations, including the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. This step is move towards the complete concentration of power in just one family's hands," he stated.

Meanwhile, website of the newspaper Moskovski Komsomolets writes that when Constitutional referendum was held in Azerbaijan on September of the last year, the opposition called the new Constitution neo-monarchial and predicted that Aliyev’s 19-year-old son, Heydar, would rule in the country for many years. 

“Mehriban Aliyeva’s appointment became a real threat to the country’s international image. Nobody will accept that the power is in the hands of the ruling family,” the author notes.

According to Vadim Mukhanov – scientist of Primakov National Research Institute of World economy and International Relations – it is not surprising that Aliyev has appointed his wife as the first vice president, when manat faced devaluation, and tension escalated among the powerful clans of the country.
It is highlighted that Aliyev is preparing to pass the presidency to his son.

On July 18, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to send a Project of Referendum Act on Introducing Amendments to the Constitution of Azerbaijan to the Constitutional Court of the country for consideration. The suggested amendments propose to introduce the institutes of the first vice-president and vice-presidents, who will be appointed and dismissed by the president of the country. In addition, the minimum age limit for a presidential candidate, which is now set to 35 years, will be eliminated. It is also planned to increase the presidential term from five to seven years. It is proposed to introduce an amendment in the Constitution providing for the dissolution of the parliament, a provision, which is not provided in the current Constitution.

Azerbaijani oppositionists and experts called the Constitutional amendments retrogressive considering them directed towards the strengthening of the authoritarianism in the country, which will lead to serious human rights violations.