BBC Online :
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has won a fifth consecutive term in power with more than 92% of the vote, according to election authorities.
However, international observers say he had no meaningful challenger.
The main rival parties boycotted the election, with one opposition leader calling it an “imitation of democracy”.
Wednesday’s vote was planned for 2025, but a snap poll was called after the government seized control of a region run by ethnic Armenian separatists.
Mr Aliyev ran against six other candidates although none were critical of his rule. Thousands of supporters took to the streets of the capital Baku to celebrate the president’s re-election. State media cited election officials as saying Mr Aliyev had received 92.05% of the vote with over 93% of ballots counted, with turnout at around 76%. The president typically wins over 85% of the vote in elections which rights groups say are neither free nor fair.
Artur Gerasymov, who led an observer mission from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, told reporters on Thursday that President Aliyev “was not meaningfully challenged… [which] resulted in a contest devoid of genuine pluralism”.
