European observers believe that elections in Azerbaijan were held under limited conditions – Winnipeg Free Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Thursday that Azerbaijan's presidential election was held in a narrow environment without real political competition.

Slightly more than 93 percent of the ballots were counted, and incumbent President Ilham Aliyev won more than 92 percent of the votes, the head of the Central Election Commission, Mazahir Panakhov, announced on Thursday. Aliyev's three main rivals were far behind and missed the race, Interfax Azerbaijan news agency reports.

Aliyev called the early vote amid rising popularity months after his forces quickly retook the Karabakh region from ethnic Armenian separatists who had controlled it for three decades. Now he will begin another seven-year term.

Wednesday's election “was held in a restricted environment and … was marked by the stifling of critical voices,” said Artur Gerasimov, special coordinator and head of the Azerbaijan Election Monitoring Group.

Aliyev was “not challenged in a meaningful way” and due to restrictions on independent media, civil society and other political parties, the contest was “deprived of true pluralism,” Gerasimov said. He said the “almost absence of analytical reporting” in the Azerbaijani media hinders voters' ability to make an informed choice.

Analysts believe that Aliyev promoted the election to take advantage of the explosion in his popularity after the Karabakh blitz in September. He will be in the spotlight in November when fossil fuel-dependent Azerbaijan hosts a UN climate change conference.

Aliyev, 62, succeeded his father for more than 20 years as leader of Azerbaijan's communists, which gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and then president for a decade.

Aliyev was congratulated on his victory by a number of leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Iranian Ebrahim Raisi.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Aliyev and they talked about continuing “strategic partnership”, reports the press service of the Azerbaijani leader.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky posted his congratulations on the X page, formerly known as Twitter, saying he appreciates Azerbaijan's humanitarian aid to Ukraine and “mutual support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our countries.”

Election officials said that during the 11-hour voting, more than 76 percent of the voters participated in the voting and showed active participation in the election. Even before the preliminary results were announced, several hundred people holding Azerbaijani flags gathered in Baku, dancing and singing.

Aliyev said he wants the election to be the “beginning of a new era” in which Azerbaijan will gain full control over its territory. He and his family voted in Khankendi, which Armenians called Stepanakert when the self-proclaimed separatist government was headquartered there.

At the end of the separatist war in 1994, the region, internationally known as Nagorno-Karabakh, and a large part of the surrounding territories came under the full control of ethnic Armenian forces with the support of Armenia.

Azerbaijan retook most of Karabakh and surrounding territories in a six-week war that ended with a Moscow-brokered truce in 2020. In December 2022, Azerbaijan blocked the region's road to Armenia, causing food and fuel shortages, and then launched a September blitz that crushed separatist forces in a single day and forced them to lay down their arms.

More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians deserted the region after the defeat of the separatist forces.

During his visit to the city in November, Aliyev said in a speech at a military victory parade: “We have shown the whole world the strength, determination and indomitable spirit of the people of Azerbaijan.”

Raya Feyziyeva, 73, of Fizuli, an Azerbaijani town near Karabakh that was controlled by Armenian forces until 2020, said she “felt very good” on election day and thanked Aliyev for taking back her hometown. He said he was forced to leave after Armenian forces captured Fizuli in 1993 and drove out its ethnic Azerbaijani population.

“Knowing that I'm going to be buried in my hometown gives me peace,” he said.

The turnout was the same in the village of Agali in Zangilan district, another area near Karabakh that was retaken from the Armenian army. Mubariz Farkhadov, who heads the local polling station established in the newly built school, said that he was happy to witness “the historic moment when elections are held in our homeland for the first time in 30 years.” »

There is no term limit for Aliyev, and the other six candidates have not passed the actual test. Some of them have already praised Aliyev publicly.

Aliyev's time in power was marked by the introduction of draconian laws that stifled political debate, as well as the arrest of opposition figures and independent journalists, including in the run-up to the presidential election.

Azerbaijan's two main opposition parties, Musavat and the People's Front of Azerbaijan, did not participate in the vote, and some opposition members said the vote may have been rigged.