CEC: Ilham Aliyev garners 86.03 pct of votes in presidential election
The incumbent head of state, Chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party Ilham Aliyev has won a decisive victory in presidential election by gaining the overwhelming majority of votes.
The incumbent head of state, Chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party Ilham Aliyev has won a decisive victory in presidential election by gaining the overwhelming majority of votes.
Presidential election in Azerbaijan – a historic event which determined the future of the largest South Caucasus country on the Caspian shore – took place on April 11.
The final results of the presidential election have been announced by Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) on April 12.
Ilham Aliyev has garnered 86.03 percent of votes in the election, according to the votes counted in 5,641 polling stations, CEC Chairman Mazahir Panahov said at an event dedicated to results of the presidential election.
Chairman of the Popular Front Party of Whole Azerbaijan Gudrat Hasanguliyev has garnered 3.02 percent of votes, self-nominee Zahid Oruj – 3.11 percent, Chairman of Azerbaijan Democratic Party Sardar Jalaloglu – 3.03 percent, Chairman of Modern Musavat Party Hafiz Hajiyev – 1.52 percent, Chairman of Azerbaijan Social Democratic Party Araz Alizada – 1.38 percent, Chairman of National Revival Movement Party Faraj Guliyev – 1.17 percent, Razi Nurullayev, nominated by Frontists Initiative Group – 0.74 percent.
Panahov went on to say that the voting in all constituencies in the presidential election was conducted in a fair manner. He noted that many international and local observers monitored the election and all observers highly assessed the election.
No unpleasant situation has been observed in the election, and the CEC has not received any appeals on any violations, according to CEC chairman.
Exit-polls confirm results of presidential election
Results of exit polls held by international and local organizations testified to the legitimacy of the presidential elections in Azerbaijan.
An exit-poll conducted by Independent Counseling and Support Center for Civil Society jointly with France's OpinionWay revealed that Ilham Aliyev sealed victory, gaining a major 86.53 percent of votes. As part of the exit-poll, 11,495 voters were surveyed in line with a methodology developed by 420 observers. The exit-poll was conducted at 210 polling stations of 118 constituencies, excluding the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.
The results of the exit-poll conducted by Els Independent Research Center at 300 polling stations of 118 constituencies also indicated that nearly 82.71 percent of the vote went to the incumbent president.
The U.S.-based AJF & Associates Inc. and the Citizens’ Labor Rights Protection League have also announced the results of a joint exit-poll which disclosed that President Aliyev won 85.57 percent of the votes.
Similar results were obtained from exit-poll conducted by the local “Rәy” Monitoring Center, which cited the victory of Ilham Aliyev as 84.49 percent of voters cast their ballots for him.
Eight candidates ran for presidency in Azerbaijan. Six of them were nominated by political parties, one candidate was a self-nominee and another candidate was nominated by an initiative group.
On the voting day, 5,426 permanent polling stations and 215 temporary polling stations in 125 constituencies operated in the country.
Web cameras were installed in 1,000 polling stations in 119 electoral districts. During the day, the voting process could be observed online from the website of the Central Election Commission (CEC).
Int'l observers noted high level of organization of election
The election was observed by 894 international observers (61 organizations, 59 countries) and 58,175 local observers.
Foreign observers who monitored the presidential election in Azerbaijan have hailed its organization and claimed that it was fair, free, democratic and transparent.
The presidential election in Azerbaijan was held without violations and in accordance with the law, according to Mario David, head of the Portuguese observation mission.
“All the necessary conditions were created for all presidential candidates to update voters about their ideas and plans. The voting process was open and transparent. The voter turnout reached 74.51 percent, which testifies to people's desire to express their point of view and make their choice. The results of the presidential election in Azerbaijan are the choice made by people,” he added.
The presidential election in Azerbaijan remained in memory by the high voter turnout, according to Valerijus Simulik, chairman of the Lithuanian parliament’s committee on human rights.
“Our delegation visited 30 polling stations and talked to citizens. Azerbaijan thoroughly prepared for the election. We are very pleased with the high voter turnout in the election, which testifies that the civil society actively participates in the country’s political life,” he said at the press conference.
Azerbaijan demonstrated an impeccable level of preparation for the presidential election, which can serve as example for many countries, former Italian MP Antonio Razzi said, noting that observers from Italy at the presidential election didn’t observe any violations, but, on the contrary, witnessed a professionally organized election.
Presidential election in Azerbaijan was held in line with international requirements and standards of democratic election as well as national legislation, a statement of the observation group from GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development read.
“The observation group doesn’t have any comments regarding the whole electoral process and the organization of the election. The election commission worked very well. The election can be assessed as free and fair,” said Giorgi Mokhidze, head of the Georgian delegation of the GUAM Parliamentary Assembly.
Haluk Ipek, Turkish MP, member of the international observation mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-Speaking Countries (TurkPA), also stressed that presidential election in Azerbaijan was organized at a high level.
“We conducted observations and meetings with observers and voters in Baku, Sumgait and Khirdalan cities. Following the observations, we would like to note the high voter turnout. Transparency and freedom of expression of the will were ensured during the election,” Ipek said.
Young people actively voted at the presidential election in Azerbaijan, Symeon Kedikoglou, a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (PABSEC) Legal and Political Affairs Committee, said at a press conference following the election in Azerbaijan.
He also touched upon the level of organization of the election, noting that since the last election Azerbaijan has made progress. Kedikoglou went on to add that there were no complaints during the election process.
In addition, some of the international observers expressed hope that they might use Azerbaijan’s advanced and professional experience in holding presidential election.
“We conducted observations at six polling stations and witnessed a coherent, democratic process of presidential election. I saw an election organization that surpassed Australia’s experience in this field, and we, together with my colleagues, will undoubtedly bring the useful experience home,” Craig Kelly, Australian MP, head of the Australia-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Friendship Group, said at a press conference in Baku.
He noted such positive moments at the election as marking fingers with an ultraviolet paint in order to prevent a repeated voting, presentation of IDs, the anonymity of voting, the transparency of ballot boxes and so on.
Heads of states congratulating Ilham Aliyev on his victory in presidential election
Ilham Aliyev has already received congratulations on his confident victory from heads of states, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, President of Moldova Igor Dodon, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili.