According to the Constitution of Azerbaijan, the executive power belongs to the President, who creates the Cabinet of Ministers to carry out executive powers.
Is it possible to abolish the Cabinet of Ministers, considered a limited authority body, and to conduct administration directly through the Presidential Administration?
Speaking to Medianews.az, statesman Vahid Ahmadov said that appointments and dismissals to both central and local executive power bodies are carried out by presidential decrees: “However, the Cabinet of Ministers is not a body with limited powers; it has considerable authority. It is just that a certain parallelism has emerged between the presidential institution and the Cabinet of Ministers, i.e., the higher executive body. I expressed several opinions and voiced my proposals about this when I was a deputy of the National Assembly.
It would be good for the vice-president institution to be expanded in our country. Several vice-presidents should be appointed. Under the leadership of the President, with their own apparatus, they would oversee the country’s economy. Then there would be no need for a separate Cabinet of Ministers. The wide application of the vice-president institution would add flexibility to the administration and help solve issues more quickly.
Recently, certain processes and reductions have been carried out in the rayon-city executive authorities. I cannot say how effective this will be. Because a better option would be the complete abolishment of rayon-city executive authorities and the appointment of authorized representatives of the President in our 14 economic regions. Currently, the authorized representative of the President is responsible for one of these economic regions – Nakhchivan. I believe that if the President had authorized representatives for all economic regions, they, along with their apparatus, could drive the socio-economic development of the regions.
At the same time, additional powers should be given to municipalities, and their financial capabilities should be expanded. A certain portion of taxes should remain at the disposal of municipalities so that they can solve social problems locally.
Thus, structural change should be made in general. As I noted, changes are currently being made in rayon-city executive authorities. In addition, some state bodies are being merged, i.e., the number of institutions is being reduced. This is a kind of intermediate option, a gradual realization of reforms, and is a reasonable option in terms of not suddenly affecting people’s lives sharply. But ultimately, there is a need to form a new and agile structure.”
Born in 1947, Vahid Ahmadov served as deputy prime minister, first deputy prime minister. He was elected as a parliament member in 1990, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020.
Medianews.az notes that the Cabinet of Ministers is considered the upper executive body of the President; it is subordinate to him and responsible before him.
The Cabinet’s composition includes the Prime Minister, his deputies, ministers, and heads of other central executive bodies.
The Prime Minister is appointed by the President with the consent of the parliament – the National Assembly; the other members of the Cabinet of Ministers are appointed directly by the President.
The Cabinet of Ministers’ powers are as follows:
- to prepare the draft state budget and submit it to the President;
- to ensure the execution of the state budget;
- to ensure implementation of financial-credit and monetary policy;
- to ensure the implementation of state economic programs;
- to ensure the implementation of state social welfare programs;
- to direct ministries and other central executive bodies, and annul their acts;
- to address other issues assigned by the President within its competencies.
The Cabinet of Ministers must submit an activity report at the spring session of the National Assembly by March 31 each year.
In 2016, the vice-presidency institution was formalized in the country. Currently, there is one Vice-President – First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva. She was appointed First Vice-President in 2017.
Naile Gasimova,
Medianews.az