Azerbaijan Strips Leader of Power
BAKU, Azerbaijan — Parliament effectively ousted President Abulfez Elchibey on Thursday, rejecting his last-minute offer to delegate most of his powers to former Communist boss Geidar A. Aliyev.
Elchibey will remain in office until a government report determines whether he is responsible for fighting between rebels and government troops that prompted the current crisis. If he is held responsible, he will be formally ousted and elections will be held.
The lawmakers handed all presidential authority to Aliyev, who returned to power as Parliament Speaker a week ago.
Elchibey, elected in June, 1992, in a nationalist backlash against the former Communist government, fled the capital last Friday and has refused to come back until rebel troops surrounding Baku are withdrawn.
The rebels are led by Surat Guseinov, a former colonel demoted by Elchibey earlier this year.
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