Azeri President re-elected, still in power after Karabakh win

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
9 Feb 2024 12:08

Ilham Aliyev has won the elections once again, marking his fifth term as president.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev attends the Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Thursday, November 9, 2023. (AP)

The official results of Wednesday's Azerbaijani elections revealed the win of President Ilham Aliyev for a fifth term, an expected outcome following Azerbaijan winning the Nagorno-Karabakh region after its yearslong disputes with Armenia last year.

"The Azerbaijani people have elected Ilham Aliyev as the country's president," Central Election Commission chief Mazahir Panahov announced during a presser.

Panahov said that based on the tabulation of ballots from 93% of polling stations, Aliyev had secured the lead with 92.05% of the votes.

Following his win, Aliyev was paraded to his recaptured hometown, while his supporters cheered him as the "liberator of Karabakh" and held signs saying "We are proud of you!" in a gathering in central Baku.

However, the opposition scolded the elections as unjust and boycotted the vote. The opposition Popular Front party's leader Ali Kerimli slammed the elections as an "imitation of democracy", saying, "There are no conditions in the country for the conduct of free and fair elections."

It is worth noting that the other six presidential candidates were less known, and endorsed Aliyev's presidency.

'Election was competitive'

Sergey Lebedev, the general secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), remarked that the presidential election was competitive and conducted per the country's constitution.

"We note the election being held is competitive, with alternatives. All candidates are decent people … All candidates had the opportunity to present their programs freely during the election campaign," Lebedev said during a final briefing.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), whose delegation was sent to Azerbaijan, affirmed that the presidential election was transparent and well-coordinated. Additionally, they noted the high voter turnout during the electoral process.

"The OIC team concluded its monitoring functions and pointed out that the electoral process was conducted in a transparent, free, and organized manner, with a high turnout of voters to exercise their political and civic rights," the OIC said in a statement.