Azerbaijan's president has chosen to move the country's presidential elections forward six months but has given no official reason for the decision. This has set the rumor mill spinning. The move could be meant to sideline the opposition, to minimize the effect a struggling economy has on the outcome, or it could be because of recent constitutional changes. On Feb. 5, President Ilham Aliyev issued a decree calling for the presidential elections in Azerbiajan to be held April 11. According to several Azerbaijani opposition groups, the move is intended to undermine their position in the upcoming election. The leader of the opposition Musavat party, for example, said the change is meant to cause timing problems for opposition groups and to prolong Aliyev's rule for another seven years. But though that reason cannot be ruled out completely, past election results make the explanation dubious.