Elections in Iran, USA, the EU, and their impact on Armenian-Azerbaijani relations – Mikayel Zolyan and Ilgar Velizade

The year 2024 was marked by a ‘parade of elections’, with countries across the globe holding presidential and presidential elections. Whereas the presidential elections in Azerbaijan and Russia passed without surprises, the results of the parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom and France brought will brough significant changes to their political make-up. In the United Kingdom, after a 14-year hiatus, the Labour Party came back to power with an extremely confident result. In France, the early elections initiated by President Macron also brought success to the left-wing forces, contrary to the rather realistic expectations of the far-right forces. Elections were also held in the European Parliament, and in neighbouring Iran, where a new reformist president was elected in snap elections held after the tragic death of President Raisi.

The main electoral event expected at the end of the year – the US presidential election – has already proved to be unprecedented. With President Joe Biden announcing his withdrawal from the election campaign.

What trends do the recent elections indicate for our region, how interested will the new leaders be in the South Caucasus and, in particular, in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process? Political scientists Mikayel Zolyan and Ilgar Velizade discussed this on the air of ‘Civilnet’. The dialogue took place within the framework of the ‘Line of Contact’ initiative of Yerevan and Baku Press Clubs.