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Putin congratulates Azerbaijani President Aliyev on election victory

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
8 Feb 2024 16:58

According to Baku's Presidential press service, Aliyev conveyed his gratitude to Putin for the attention and congratulatory messages.

People carry a huge national flag celebrating Azerbaijan's President Ilhan Aliyev's victory in the presidential election in Baku, Azerbaijan, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. (AP)

The office of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin extended his congratulations to Aliyev for his win in the early presidential election.

Mazahir Panahov, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), announced on Wednesday that based on the tabulation of ballots from 93% of polling stations, Aliyev had secured the lead with 92.05% of the votes.

"On February 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and congratulated him on his landslide victory in the presidential elections," the statement said.

According to the press service, Aliyev conveyed his gratitude to Putin for the attention and congratulatory messages.

Later in the day, Sergey Lebedev, the general secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), remarked that the presidential election was competitive and conducted in accordance with 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.

Azerbaijan held a snap presidential election on Wednesday, marking the first such election since Baku gained control of Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023.