Legal system:
based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ilham ALIYEV (since 31 October 2003) head of government: Prime Minister Artur RASIZADE (since 4 November 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Yaqub EYYUBOV (since June 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 15 October 2008 (next to be held in October 2013); prime minister and first deputy prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly election results: Ilham ALIYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Ilham ALIYEV 88.7%, Igbal AGHAZADE 2.9%, five other candidates with smaller percentages note: several political parties boycotted the election due to unfair conditions; OSCE observers concluded that the election did not meet international standards
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis (125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 6 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Yeni 58, Azadliq coalition 8, CSP 2, Motherland 2, other parties with single seats 9, independents 42, undetermined 4
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court