Today, September 1, 2026, marks exactly two years since the elections to the 7th convocation of the Milli Majlis.
Although the election was held on September 1, 2024, the new parliament began its work on September 23. This convocation also went down in history as the first parliament formed throughout the entire territory of the country after Azerbaijan's sovereignty was fully restored. President Ilham Aliyev, in his speech at the first meeting of the 7th convocation of the Milli Majlis, specifically emphasized that the presidential and parliamentary elections were held for the first time throughout the entire country.
Modern.az has compiled the main events, memorable polemics, international visits, and legislative activities that took place in the Milli Majlis over the past two years.
First meeting and one dissenting vote
122 deputies participated in the first meeting of the 7th convocation of the Milli Majlis. The meeting was opened by the oldest member of parliament, academician Ziyad Samadzade.
Sahiba Gafarova was re-elected as the Speaker of the Milli Majlis. 121 deputies participated in the voting: 120 deputies voted in favor, and one deputy voted against.
Ali Ahmadov was elected First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, while Ziyafat Asgarov, Musa Gasimli, and Rafael Huseynov were elected Deputy Speakers. In the election, the New Azerbaijan Party won 68 mandates, and 44 deputies entered parliament as independents.
In the first months of the new convocation, the creation of two new structures, the Temporary Commission against Foreign Interference and Hybrid Threats and the Initiative Group for Return to Western Azerbaijan, also attracted attention.
"If you want an interesting conversation, have a glass of tea"
One of the first memorable remarks of the new parliament was made on November 1, 2024.
Rafael Huseynov stated that the language of draft laws is sometimes difficult to understand and proposed the creation of a separate structure to deal with legal terminology. When Erkin Gadirlı wanted to join the discussion, Sahiba Gafarova replied: "If you want an interesting conversation, have a glass of tea after the meeting."
This remark spread on social networks and in the media as one of the first humorous, yet sharp, episodes of the new convocation of parliament.
How deputies voiced social problems
On November 27, 2024, during the discussion of the 2025 budgets of the State Social Protection Fund and the Unemployment Insurance Fund, a number of deputies spoke about social problems, the amount of pensions and benefits, and unemployment.
Following the critical speeches, Sahiba Gafarova criticized the deputies:
"Listening to you, one is filled with horror."
The Speaker asked for the work done to be noted and said that the speeches created a completely negative picture of the country. This incident was one of the first open disagreements between the parliamentary leadership and deputies during the discussion of social issues.
COP29 became a major event of parliamentary diplomacy
The most memorable international event of 2024 was the Parliamentary Meeting held within the framework of COP29.
On November 16-17, 95 delegations from 67 countries, a total of 345 parliamentary representatives, participated in the event co-organized by the Milli Majlis and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The meeting discussed climate finance, parliamentary oversight of international commitments, and the transition to a green economy.
In December of the same year, an international conference was held dedicated to the 106th anniversary of Azerbaijani parliamentarism. Nearly 100 foreign representatives participated in the event.
In total, 19 plenary sessions were held, 84 laws and 41 decisions were adopted during the first autumn session of the 7th convocation. Deputies made 80 visits to 24 countries, and the Milli Majlis received representatives from 60 countries and 16 international organizations.
Proposal to "give monuments to entrepreneurs" caused controversy
On April 22, 2025, during the discussion of amendments to the law on the protection of historical and cultural monuments, deputy Sayyad Salahli proposed giving some unattended monuments to entrepreneurs for restoration and use.
Sahiba Gafarova reacted harshly to this approach, stating that the monuments belong to Azerbaijani culture and criticized the deputy, saying, "What are you talking about?!"
Sayyad Salahli later tried to explain that his idea was not about privatizing the monuments, but about restoring and putting them into use under state control.
Astana, Khiva, and Srebrenica visits
In 2025, several visits by the parliamentary leadership were of particular importance. Sahiba Gafarova attended the 14th plenary session of TURKPA held in Astana on June 12. On July 1, the first inter-parliamentary forum between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan was held in Khiva. On July 10-11, a delegation led by the Speaker of the Milli Majlis visited Bosnia and Herzegovina to participate in the anniversary events of the Srebrenica genocide.
The Milli Majlis also hosted the 65th General Assembly of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization during that period. Approximately 115 delegates participated in the event.
Special session for Washington agreements
On September 9, 2025, an extraordinary session of the Milli Majlis was held. The meeting was dedicated to the agreements reached in Washington between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Deputies discussed the importance of the agreements in terms of regional peace, opening of communications, and normalization of Azerbaijan-Armenia relations, and adopted a special statement. This was one of the most important special sessions of the 7th convocation of parliament dedicated to foreign policy issues.
Zangazur polemic between Fazil Mustafa and Ziyafat Asgarov
On September 19, 2025, at a conference dedicated to State Sovereignty Day, Fazil Mustafa's speech about the land connection with Nakhchivan caused controversy.
The deputy presented the opening of the land route as the completion of Azerbaijan's real unity. Ziyafat Asgarov, however, stated that it is incorrect to link territorial integrity with the existence or non-existence of a road. He reminded that according to the Constitution, the territory of Azerbaijan is already unified and indivisible, and called for cautious discussion on this topic.
Thus, the basis of the polemic was not the importance of the Zangazur road, but the form in which the concept of "territorial integrity" is expressed.
Azerbaijani and Armenian deputies at one table
One of the most notable events of the last two years took place in Istanbul on November 18, 2025.
Within the framework of the autumn meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, a bilateral meeting was held between the Azerbaijani and Armenian parliamentary delegations. The meeting was a continuation of the agreement previously reached in Geneva between Sahiba Gafarova and the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Alen Simonyan.
The parties discussed parliamentary support for the peace process, confidence-building, and relations in international parliamentary organizations. This meeting was considered significant in terms of parliamentary diplomacy moving from confrontational rhetoric to direct dialogue.
Amnesty covering 20,000 people
On December 19, 2025, the Milli Majlis adopted an amnesty decision at the initiative of President Ilham Aliyev.
The official statement indicated that the decision, presented as the most extensive amnesty in the period of independence, covered approximately 20,000 people. The amnesty applied to participants of the Patriotic War and anti-terrorist operations, their relatives, women, persons over 60 years of age, and other categories.
"I wish Siyavush Novruzov had spoken against Ramiz Mehdiyev 10 years ago and made history"
One of the sharpest verbal confrontations between deputies in the 7th convocation of the Milli Majlis took place between Tenzile Rustamkhanli and Siyavush Novruzov on October 17, 2025.
Tenzile Rustamkhanli, speaking on the occasion of October 18 - Restoration of Independence Day, stated that 43 deputies, led by Heydar Aliyev, voted for the restoration of Azerbaijan's independence.
Siyavush Novruzov protested his colleague, reminding that 271 deputies voted for the restoration of independence, and 43 deputies opposed the holding of a referendum on the preservation of the USSR in March 1991:
"Independence is one thing, voting against a referendum is another. Let's not falsify history."
Tenzile Rustamkhanli took these words as being called a "falsifier" and asked for the floor again. In her speech, she clarified that she was referring to the meeting held on March 7, 1991, and the 43 deputies who opposed the referendum on the preservation of the USSR.
The deputy did not conclude her response with this, bringing the discussion to the main political agenda of those days - the Ramiz Mehdiyev issue:
"I wish Siyavush Novruzov had spoken against Ramiz Mehdiyev 10 years ago and made history."
After this, Siyavush Novruzov again asked for the floor, but the Speaker of the Milli Majlis, Sahiba Gafarova, deemed it inappropriate to continue the topic in the plenary session and stopped the discussion.
Thus, the dialogue, which began as a correction about historical dates and votes, quickly turned into a political polemic involving mutual accusations and extending to the name of Ramiz Mehdiyev. This incident was one of the most open and memorable verbal confrontations between two deputies in the 7th convocation of parliament.
Artificial intelligence became the subject of laws for the first time
In 2026, new topics such as artificial intelligence, social platforms, cybersecurity, and the protection of children in the digital environment were included in the legislative agenda of the Milli Majlis.
According to the adopted amendments, the dissemination of materials created by artificial intelligence and presented to the public without appropriate labeling entails administrative responsibility. At the same time, changes were made to criminal legislation regarding the use of destructive artificial intelligence and software.
Laws were also adopted regarding the protection of children from harmful information on social platforms, the creation of a safe digital environment, and the determination of legal mechanisms for state control.
Report of the Chamber of Accounts: Deficiencies in 36 measures
One of the most serious discussions in terms of parliamentary oversight was around the 2025 report of the Chamber of Accounts.
The report stated that deficiencies related to the management of budget funds and state property were identified in 36 out of 48 control measures. The amount of state budget funds covered by the audits was close to 6.7 billion manats.
During the discussions, Vugar Bayramov, Ali Masimli, Razi Nurullayev, Gudrat Hasanguliyev, and other deputies raised questions about the efficiency of state funds, procurements, and accountability.
More than 500 representatives in Baku
The largest international parliamentary event of 2026 was the 20th Conference of the Parliamentary Union of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The event, held in Baku on June 22-25, was attended by 54 delegations from 43 countries and 11 international organizations, a total of more than 500 participants. At the end of the conference, the Baku Declaration was adopted, and the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan took over the chairmanship of the organization.
Sahiba Gafarova held 19 bilateral meetings within the framework of the event. This meeting can be considered one of the biggest international organizational successes of the Milli Majlis in the last two years.
The most discussed interviews of two years:
"When Sabir bey enters, one must stand up"
A comprehensive interview with Tenzile Rustamkhanli published on Modern.az on March 18, 2025, was also one of the most discussed deputy interviews of that year.
Speaking about her family life, the deputy jokingly called her husband, People's Poet Sabir Rustamkhanli, "the most charming man on earth." She revealed that she had found love letters sent to Sabir Rustamkhanli at one time, had them compiled into a book, and presented it to the poet on his 50th birthday.
This part of the interview was published as a separate news item by numerous media outlets. However, the main discussion was not only about love letters.
Tenzile Rustamkhanli said that she taught her children to stand up when Sabir Rustamkhanli entered the house, and to take his jacket, bag, and shoes. The deputy also stated that she does not address her husband by his first name and that as a creative person, he is kept away from household chores.
These ideas sparked a wide debate on social networks about the role of women and men in the family. One group regarded this as a sign of respect for one's spouse and an example of the traditional Azerbaijani family model. Others stated that such relationships promote a patriarchal family model.
The deputy's views on modern youth's inability to love like previous generations and the changing nature of love were also discussed separately.
One of the most discussed interviews of the 7th convocation of parliament was given by Sayyad Aran to Modern.az on May 16, 2025.
The deputy said that he does not own a personal car, goes to the Milli Majlis by bus number 18, and walks to the metro on his way back. When asked why he had not bought a car despite working as a deputy, diplomat, and high-ranking state official for many years, Sayyad Aran stated that his salary went to family and medical expenses:
"Let's say I earn 5,000 manats. What can I save from that to buy a car?"
This very idea became the most discussed part of the interview. The deputy's statement that he could not save money with a salary of 5,000 manats was compared on social networks and in the media with citizens' average wages, pensions, and living expenses. Economists and social media users criticized his statement.
Another resonant idea in the interview was voiced regarding the social situation in Imishli. Sayyad Aran linked some people's poor living conditions to their laziness, saying that there are opportunities to work and earn in a free market economy. These words also sparked a debate about the causes of poverty and unemployment.
