presidential election
Azerbaijan: Aliyev is presented as the election winner
Head of State Ilham Aliyev (M) with his family. photo
© Azerbaijani Presidential Press Office/AP/dpa
In order to secure his power after the conquest of Karabakh, the authoritarian Ilham Aliyev in Azerbaijan had his re-election brought forward. Now, as expected, he can be celebrated as a clear winner.
In authoritarian Azerbaijan, the incumbent is the incumbent As expected, Ilham Aliyev was presented as the clear winner of the early presidential election. After the closure of more than 6,500 polling stations in the country, Azerbaijani state media published alleged election day polls showing that Aliyev received between 92.4 and 93.9 percent of the vote.
Wednesday’s vote ensures Aliyev another seven years at the helm of the oil-rich South Caucasus republic on the Caspian Sea. However, according to critical observers, the vote was neither free nor fair given the severe repression.
For example, it was criticized that the 62-year-old Aliyev, who took over the presidency from his father Heydar Aliyev in 2003, had no serious competitor in this vote. All six opposing candidates were not only considered completely hopeless from the outset, but they even publicly supported Aliyev.
Opposition boycotts the election
In protest, the two main opposition parties boycotted the election, which was called for by more than six million people and which will now ensure Aliyev’s leadership of the country for another seven years. Human rights activists also criticized the fact that numerous independent journalists and a well-known opposition politician had been arrested in recent months.
Aliyev surprisingly brought forward the election, which was actually only planned for 2025. He officially justified the move by saying that the president needed new legitimacy after conquering the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict region last fall. However, political observers tend to assume that the authoritarian president, with the Karabakh triumph behind him, now wants to quickly secure his power before dissatisfaction in society over problems such as high social inequality and rampant corruption increases further.
Although Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijani territory, until a few months ago it was predominantly inhabited by ethnic Armenians. For decades, Karabakh was contested between the two neighboring ex-Soviet republics. The attacks by the Azerbaijani army caused more than 100,000 Karabakh Armenians to flee. Armenia accused Azerbaijan of expulsion and “ethnic cleansing.”