AZERBAIJAN: Opposition candidate votes in presidential election despite boycott

Record ID: 217934

  • Title: AZERBAIJAN: Opposition candidate votes in presidential election despite boycott
  • Date: 16th October 2008
  • Summary: (W3) BAKU, AZERBAIJAN (OCTOBER 15, 2008) (REUTERS) (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) IQBAL AGAZADE, OPPOSITION CANDIDATE AND LEADER OF THE "HOPE" PARTY REGISTERING TO VOTE, REGISTERING TO VOTE CLOSE UP OF AGAZADE AGAZADE WALKING OVER TO VOTING BOOTH AGAZADE COMING OUT OF VOTING BOOTH/AGAZADE CASTING BALLOT POLLING STATION ENTRANCE (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) OPPOSITION CANDIDATE AN
  • Embargoed: 31st October 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Azerbaijan
  • Country: Azerbaijan
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVACPIP689CKQ830TDVEQKEJVWVA
  • Story Text: Authorities in Azerbaijan said turnout was high on Wednesday (October 15) in a presidential election boycotted by the opposition and almost certain to return Ilham Aliyev for a second term in the oil-producing state.
    The state electoral commission said 33.4 percent of voters had cast ballots within four hours of polls opening at 8 a.m. (0300 GMT).
    Most of the six other candidates are considered loyal to the government. The opposition says the election is a farce, designed only to extend the Aliyev family dynasty for another five years in the former Soviet republic.
    Most opposition leaders are boycotting the election, alleging curbs on democracy and media freedom make participation pointless. Rights groups back their complaints, and point to a personality cult around Ilham Aliyev's late father, long-serving leader Heydar Aliyev, saying it makes dissent dangerous.
    Iqbal Agazade, opposition candidate and leader of the "Hope"
    party, however, made the decision to vote in an attempt to unite opposition supporters against Aliyev.
    The government insists Aliyev is genuinely popular. His rule has coincided with an oil boom driving one of the world's fastest-growing economies -- despite the global financial crisis -- and filling government coffers.
    A win for the moustached 46-year-old would give him a second five-year term, his last under the constitution.
    In 2003, Aliyev succeeded his father, a former local KGB chief who went on to rule Azerbaijan for more than 30 years as Soviet-era Communist party boss and then as president.
    His father's portrait displayed at almost every turn, Aliyev won 76 percent of the vote. The opposition cried foul, but protests were crushed by police.
    Agazade was one of the leaders of the protests that erupted after the 2003 presidential elections and was subsequently imprisoned for 17 months.

    "At 10 o'clock (17:00 GMT) we will know the result which is in the ballot boxes. We will know which measures have been taken by the state, by the authorities, by the central electoral commission and the regional commissions.
    And then we will discuss it and make a decision," he told reporters after voting.
    When asked if the opposition would protest an Aliyev victory, he said: "Everything is possible, nobody excludes anything".
    The country of 8.3 million people lies at a strategic crossroads between East and West, sandwiched between Russia and Iran and straddling a region emerging as a major energy transit route from Central Asia to Europe.
    Opposition politicians and journalists say Western governments have toned down their criticism of Azerbaijan's democracy for fear of losing a strategic ally and access to its oil reserves in the Caspian Sea.
    Observers will watch closely for Thursday's (October 16) initial assessment by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has almost 400 monitors in the field. The opposition Musavat party has already filed for permission to protest on Saturday (October 18).
    Baku has traditionally tried to balance itself between the West and its former Soviet master Russia.
    But this summer's war between Russia and Georgia, when Moscow made clear its readiness to defend spheres of "privileged interest" in the former Soviet Union, has cast doubt over Azerbaijan's ability to play all sides for much longer.
    Analysts say a smooth election day, despite a flawed campaign, could be enough to win a more favourable report card from the West. Polls close at 7 p.m. (1400 GMT), and official results are expected early on Thursday (October 16).
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