Presidential Election in Azerbaijan

This briefing discussed the Azerbaijani election that occured two weeks before. The election itself brought to power a popular front government which asked foreign governments not to recognize Azerbaijan upon its independence from the former U.S.S.R., as relayed by witness Thomas Goltz. The rationale for this seemingly counterintuitive request was that, while Azerbaijan had become sovereign again, the "powers that be" were still Communist.

There were maneuvers by the popular front and its chairman, Abulfez Elchibey, to postpone the election, until it became apparent in mid-May of 1992 that the popular front would win. A skirmish at the Azeri Parliament transpired, and while the popular front emerged victorious in elections, Goltz was pessimistic about the country's trajectory. Also in attendance was Shireen Hunter with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).