Ilqar Mammadov, the leader of the Republican Alternative Party (REAL) in Azerbaijan, has resigned from his position following the Central Election Commission’s (CEC) rejection of his complaint regarding the annulment of election results in his district.
Mammadov, who has led the party since its official registration as a political entity in 2020, announced his resignation on Facebook, citing the CEC’s dismissal of his key arguments and evidence as the primary reason for his decision.
Mammadov’s political career has been marked by significant challenges, including a seven-year imprisonment in 2013 under charges that the European Court of Human Rights later deemed politically motivated in 2014.
Although conditionally released in 2018, the European Council did not consider this a sufficient measure of justice. It was not until 2020, after the Azerbaijan Supreme Court’s Plenum fully exonerated him, that the European Council closed the case and lifted the threat of Azerbaijan’s expulsion from the council.
In his resignation statement, Mammadov expressed his commitment to stepping down as promised in 2023, pending the Constitutional Court’s decision on the election results. He indicated that the REAL Party’s Political Committee would select a new leader following his final video address.
