On Wednesday, I. Aliyev was re-elected with 92% of the vote. votes in a vote that passed off within the face of an impartial media and with none actual opposition.
It was a predictable victory for him following his historic victory over Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh final 12 months.
At a press convention, observers from the Group for Safety and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) careworn that Wednesday’s vote was not aggressive and passed off in a restricted atmosphere. They added that main shortcomings had been additionally observed on election day.
“Though six different candidates participated within the marketing campaign, none of them convincingly challenged the insurance policies of the present president, leaving voters with no actual different,” observers mentioned.
They pointed to “issues with poll secrecy, an absence of safety in opposition to a number of voting, indicators of poll tampering” and raised “severe questions on whether or not the ballots had been pretty counted and pretty reported.”
Observers additionally mentioned that “current arrests of essential journalists have hampered the free functioning of the media.”
“Imitation of Democracy”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated “expensive brother” I. Aliyev on Wednesday, even earlier than the announcement of the official election outcomes.
Throughout the telephone dialog, the 2 leaders “expressed their perception that (…) our two nations will proceed to stroll hand in hand, based mostly on the precept of ‘one nation, two nations,'” Aliyev’s workplace mentioned in an announcement.
Ukrainian chief Volodymyr Zelensky despatched I. Aliyev a greeting and thanked him for “mutual assist for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our nations.”
The Azerbaijani chief’s workplace additionally mentioned Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin “congratulated Ilham Aliyev on his victory within the presidential election and wished him success in his presidential actions for the event of Azerbaijan and the well-being of our folks.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán congratulated the Caucasian chief on his “enormous and indeniable victory” and mentioned he “hopes to additional strengthen cooperation between Hungary and Azerbaijan, in addition to between Azerbaijan and the EU throughout Hungary’s EU presidency.”
Aliyev was welcomed at dwelling following his forces wrested the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh area from Armenian separatists who had managed it for many years in September.
However the oil-rich nation’s essential opposition events boycotted the vote, which Ali Kerimli, one of many opposition leaders, and head of the Individuals’s Entrance celebration, referred to as an imitation of democracy.
The opposite six candidates who ran had been little identified and have been showered with reward since Aliyev introduced early elections in December.
In current months, Azerbaijani authorities have stepped up stress on impartial media shops and arrested a number of essential journalists.
62-year-old I. Aliyev was first elected president in 2003 following the dying of his father Heydar Aliyev.
He was re-elected in 2008, 2013 and 2018 elections, which opposition events denounced as rigged.
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2024-05-18 07:05:50