Today, with great pride, the extraordinary presidential elections of February 7, 2024 have entered the history of Azerbaijan as a Victory election. The historic victory won by our people in the 44-day Patriotic War in 2020 and in the one-day local anti-terrorist events in September 2023 was firmly strengthened by the presidential elections on February 7, which were completed in conditions of great unity and organization.

With the re-election of Mr. Ilham Aliyev, who has a special place and position among the world leaders of the 21st century and has brought historical victories to his people, on February 7, 2024, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, our independent state also received a new and reliable guarantee from Zafar - towards Victories. In this sense, our people and our country concluded the magnificent historical development path of our independence history with the extraordinary presidential elections of February 7, 2024 and entered a new era that demonstrates the broad horizons of greater development.

Ilham Aliyev, who successfully led the Republic of Azerbaijan, brought our country and people to a new stage of historical development, left an indelible mark on our history with his great victory in the February 7 elections, and presented a great report of 20 years of development, also confirmed that he is a leader who can guarantee a greater future.

The period 2003-2023, which is a special stage in the history of Azerbaijan, is the epic of the first period of the political power of President Ilham Aliyev, and the historic victory won in the elections of February 7, 2024 is a manifesto expressing the Supreme Commander's calls for a greater future. This is the visionary statesman, our national leader Heydar Aliyev, the author of the idea of ​​the manifesto of independent statehood, and the main hero and great helmsman is our victorious Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev. Because of all this, the presidential elections of February 7, 2024 are the great conclusion of our history of independence, the great beginning and password of a new historical epoch. The people of Azerbaijan, who won an important historical victory in the February 7 elections before the eyes of the world, received a mandate for their greater future, which promises new victories, by voting for Ilham Aliyev with great pride.

Due to its deep meaning and necessity, the presidential elections of February 7, 2024 can be compared in the history of Azerbaijan only with the elections of October 3, 1993, when the great leader Heydar Aliyev came to political power for the second time. During that period of responsible testing, when Azerbaijan was experiencing deep crises and the danger of losing independence was on the square, our people had great hope and confidence that Heydar Aliyev, a world-renowned statesman with rich experience, would save our country.

In this regard, in the elections of October 3, 1993, our people voted for their destiny and tomorrow in the person of Heydar Aliyev. History has proved how wise our nation is in the example of Heydar Aliyev's rescue mission. Outstanding statesman Heydar Aliyev proved that he was able to change the course of history by saving our state independence from the threat of loss and creating solid foundations for the next stage of development.

As it is known, the current elections of February 7, 2024, unlike the elections of October 3, 1993, were held in a situation where our independent state developed at a great speed, our country won a historic victory in the Karabakh war, and our territorial integrity and sovereignty were fully confirmed. Just as our people did not see another leader comparable to Heydar Aliyev in the elections of October 3, 1993, in order not to lose and strengthen our state independence, in the elections of February 7, 2024, in the ability to preserve our country at the summit it has reached and lead it to new heights, none other than Ilham Aliyev did not have to think about an alternative candidate. In this sense, the people of Azerbaijan went to the presidential elections with great confidence on October 3, 1993, and they spoke with the same determination and the same sense of pride in the elections of February 7, 2024. Therefore, our people, who celebrated the removal of the threat of losing independence with the election of the outstanding statesman Heydar Aliyev as the head of the country in the presidential elections of October 3, 1993, are moving forward from Victory to Victory of our independent state by giving a mandate to the victorious Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev in the elections of February 7, 2024. experienced the real celebration of his great belief that he will develop.

In this respect, in terms of statehood, Heydar Aliyev's iron will and Ilham Aliyev's "iron fist" complement and strengthen each other. All this clearly demonstrates that the era of Heydar Aliyev - Ilham Aliyev is a new historical period in the centuries-old history of Azerbaijan.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is one of the world leaders of the 21st century. None of the new states that emerged during the period of independence were able to bring great historical victories to their people as much as President Ilham Aliyev. So, while in some countries the economy, tourism and transport in others, agrarian field, and two or three light industrial fields in another have gained advantage, in the Republic of Azerbaijan, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, all areas of social life continue to develop at a high pace. Azerbaijan, an ancient oil country, has a special importance in the formation of the state budget today in non-oil sectors: agricultural sector, transport - logistics, tourism, and service sectors. Also, all areas in our country are being developed purposefully with precisely predicted State programs and the joint participation of the private sector.

As a visionary leader, President Ilham Aliyev objectively evaluates today's realities and correctly predicts tomorrow's horizons. Therefore, continuous and sustainable development in all fields has been ensured in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The basis of the forward development of the independent state of Azerbaijan is the high management skills of President Ilham Aliyev. With many years of successful statesmanship, he literally proves to be a master of grand governance as well as grand politics.

President Ilham Aliyev is a leader who implements an independent policy. The motto "Our word is our signature" is a confirmed thesis that Ilham Aliyev's words and himself, his ideas and his will form a solid unity. Strong internal and moral independence of the head of state is a solid foundation of his political independence. In this sense, President Ilham Aliyev's implementation of an independent policy is the main guarantee of the independent statehood of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The independent state of Azerbaijan does not depend on any block or state of the world. There is only one address to which President Ilham Aliyev reports, and that is the people of Azerbaijan, whom he leads with deep loyalty and great skill. Gaining the irrevocable support of the people is the basis of Ilham Aliyev's policy of independent statehood.

Ilham Aliyev is also a skilled statesman in terms of connecting the domestic policy with the foreign policy. Because President Ilham Aliyev has only one interest that he considers sacred both in foreign policy and in the domestic political process, which consists of the national interests of the Azerbaijani people and the statehood interests of our independent country. The domestic and foreign policy of our country is dedicated to the ideal of Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev raised the honor of Azerbaijan's ideal to the level of the prestigious lectern of the United Nations, the tribunes of international organizations, and the negotiation table of world leaders. The protagonist of Ilham Aliyev's domestic policy, and the main strategy of his foreign policy, is the ideal of Azerbaijan.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has achieved the status of the victorious Commander-in-Chief, which is the highest position in the eyes of our people. As it is known, he earned the status of the victorious Commander-in-Chief by his literally unparalleled heroism in the 44-day Patriotic War. Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, who leads the Azerbaijan Army in the right military direction, is also an invincible hero of the war he waged alone on the information front. In this sense, the "iron fist" is a symbol of the Supreme Commander's iron will both on the war front and in the information war. Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev is the winner of both fronts: the real battle front and the information war. President Ilham Aliyev is a winner in international relations and domestic politics. The word "Muzaffar" is a synonym of the word "winner". Until now, Ilham Aliyev has shown an example of victory in the February 7, 2024 elections, as in all directions of his multifaceted activities. This is the celebration of victory flags, which are flying all over the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The world-famous prominent Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aytmatov stated at the beginning of the 21st century that the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has high leadership qualities as follows: "Ilham Aliyev is the standard leader of the 21st century."

Indeed, Ilham Aliyev is an example of the leadership mission of the new historical epoch based on his multifaceted successful activity, the great victories he won for his country and people, his characteristic of having an independent position in his character, and his strong political will. In this regard, the unity and organization shown to the world by the Azerbaijani people on February 7, 2024 is a living celebration of the strong faith in the victorious leader. The rows and queues in front of the polling stations on February 7, 2024 are, in their deep essence, an expression of the unshakable faith of our people in President Ilham Aliyev and the great national unity.

President Ilham Aliyev is the leader of Azerbaijan with an "iron fist" and a Victory flag.

I heartily congratulate our honorable President, our victorious Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, on the occasion of his next big legitimate victory in the extraordinary elections, and I wish our honorable leader new successes in the path to a happier future of the independent Azerbaijan state and our people.

Isa HABIBBAYLI,
President of ANAS, deputy of Milli Majlis, academician