Presidential elections were held in Azerbaijan on 15 October 2008. Ilham Aliyev of the New Azerbaijan Party was re-elected with 89% of the vote. The election was not free and fair.
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In the lead-up to the election, OSCE highlighted election irregularities and government repression of the opposition.[1] The opposition were not allowed by the government to hold campaign rallies.[1] Students and state workers were coerced into attending pro-Aliyev rallies and were also bussed to polling places to vote for Aliyev.[1]
All major opposition parties, including Musavat, the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, Azerbaijan Liberal Party, and the Azerbaijan Democratic Party boycotted the vote because of alleged poll-fixing and oppression of political opponents.[2][1] Aside from Aliyev, none of the candidates running in the election were well-known.[1]
Background
editThe incumbent, Ilham Aliyev, was nominated by the New Azerbaijan Party for a second term on 3 August 2008. Musavat, the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, the Azerbaijan Liberal Party, the Citizen and Progress Party, and the Azerbaijan Democratic Party announced their boycott of the election due to unfair conditions.[3] In response, an aide to Aliyev claimed that the opposition withdrew because it "knew that President Aliyev would win the elections with a majority."[4] A total of seven candidates filed to run in the election.[5] Each of the candidates had to collect 40,000 support signatures.[6]
Campaigning officially began in mid-September. The candidates were limited to a four-week campaigning period by law. According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, IRFS and RSF, the media (state-owned and private) showed bias in favor of Aliyev's candidacy.[5]
Conduct
editThe election was observed by more than 500 international observers, mostly from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).[7] The OSCE said that there was progress in the elections compared to past ones, however it did not meet international standards,[8] because of the lack of competition to incumbent Ilham Aliyev.[9] The NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, declared "He welcomes reports from the international election observers from OSCE, Council of Europe and the European Parliament indicating progress in the conduct of Azerbaijan’s presidential elections on 15 October 2008. Azerbaijan should build on this achievement and address the remaining shortcomings that were noted."[10]
Avez Temirhan of the election-boycotting Azerbaijan Liberal Party said, "This leadership is not legitimate and its election does not reflect the will of the people."[11]
Results
editA total of seven candidates registered with the Central Election Commission.[12]
The incumbent, Ilham Aliyev, won the election with over 88% of the vote, and Igbal Aghazade came in second with 2.86%. Voter turnout was 75.1%. Fuad Aliyev and Hafiz Hajiev, as in 2003, received fewer votes than supporting signatures.[13] Eight polling places' votes were invalidated.[14]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilham Aliyev | New Azerbaijan Party | 3,232,259 | 88.73 | |
| Igbal Aghazade | Party of Hope | 104,279 | 2.86 | |
| Fazil Mustafa | Great Order Party | 89,985 | 2.47 | |
| Gudrat Hasanguliyev | Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party | 83,037 | 2.28 | |
| Gulamhuseyn Alibayli | Independent | 81,120 | 2.23 | |
| Fuad Aliyev | Liberal-Democrat | 28,423 | 0.78 | |
| Hafiz Hajiyev | Modern Equality Party | 23,771 | 0.65 | |
| Total | 3,642,874 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 3,642,874 | 98.44 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 57,760 | 1.56 | ||
| Total votes | 3,700,634 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 4,927,561 | 75.10 | ||
| Source: CEC | ||||
References
edit
- ^ a b c d e Synovitz, Ron. "Azerbaijan's Opposition Cries 'Foul' As President Reelected". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
- ^ "US welcomes 'progress' in Azerbaijan election". Agence France-Presse. 2008-10-16. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
- ^ "Azerbaijani president to run for 2nd term in October elections". People's Daily. 2008-08-03. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ "Observers criticise Azerbaijan president's re-election". Agence France-Presse. 2008-10-16. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
- ^ a b "Azerbaijani Presidential Election Campaign Opens". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2008-09-17. Archived from the original on 20 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ Socor, Vladimir (2008-09-23). "Azerbaijan's presidential election campaign kicks off". Eurasia Daily Monitor. The Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ "Opposition parties define 500 observers for presidential elections in Azerbaijan". Today.Az. 2008-10-10. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ "Azerbaijan's presidential poll marked considerable progress, but did not meet all election commitments". Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. 2008-10-16. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ "Aliyev Wins Nearly 90% of Vote". The Moscow Times. 2008-10-17. Archived from the original on 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
- ^ "NATO SECRETARY GENERAL CALLS ON AZERBAIJAN'S AUTHORITIES TO CORRECT SHORTCOMINGS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN AZERBAIJAN". 2008-10-17. Archived from the original on 20 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
- ^ "Azeri opposition decries Aliyev election victory". Daily Times. Lahore, Pakistan. 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
- ^ "List of the registered candidates related to Presidential Elections of the Republic of Azerbaijan appointed on October 15, 2008". Central Election Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 2008-09-15. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ ""Seçkilər" İnformasiya Mərkəzi" (in Azerbaijani). "Election" Information Center. Archived from the original on 2009-09-05. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ Президентом Азербайджана вновь стал Ильхам Алиев (in Russian). AnNews.ru. 2008-10-24. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2008-10-25.