Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has called early parliamentary elections in the South Caucasus republic for September 1, according to a decree published in Baku on Friday.
Aliyev was himself re-elected in early presidential elections in February with 92% of the vote.
The parliamentary elections, for 125 seats, were due to take place in November, but the country will be holding the UN World Climate Summit (COP29) at that time.
The oil and gas-rich country of around 10 million inhabitants is regularly criticized for its human rights record.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has repeatedly criticized the way previous elections have been conducted as neither free nor fair.
Azerbaijan is a significant supplier of fossil fuels to the European Union.
