BAKU (Reuters) — Azerbaijan’s ruling party has decided to ask President Ilham Aliyev to call an early parliamentary election and has initiated the dissolution of parliament, a top party official said on Thursday, a month after a major government shake-up.

The decision was taken at the Yeni Azerbaijan party’s political council meeting, party executive secretary Ali Ahmedov told reporters, adding it aimed to support the president’s policy on reforms and personnel changes. He told a news conference the early election would help modernize the country’s legislative branch and speed the course of economic reforms.

The next election is not due until November 2021, but the president has the right to dissolve the parliament and call early election. The vote should take place three months after the parliament is dissolved.

Aliyev made some high-profile changes in the government and his administration last month that included the appointment of 62-year-old economist Ali Asadov as prime minister. The president criticized the pace of economic reforms and said he wanted to clear out members of his government who had reached a pensionable age, a move seen partly as intended to force out officials appointed during his father’s tenure.