AZERBAIJAN: Azerbaijan opposition supporters rally in Baku, demand re-run of last Sunday's parliamentary ballot

Record ID: 218448

  • Title: AZERBAIJAN: Azerbaijan opposition supporters rally in Baku, demand re-run of last Sunday's parliamentary ballot
  • Date: 10th November 2005
  • Summary: OPPOSITION LEADERS OF THE AZADLYQ BLOC, ALI KERIMLI (CENTRE OF SCREEN), AND ISA GAMBAR (LEFT OF SCREEN) LEADING SOME MARCHERS
  • Embargoed: 25th November 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Azerbaijan
  • Country: Azerbaijan
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8RFLNW769X9MJE1G8DF9YLN1B
  • Story Text: Opposition protesters angry over their defeat in Azerbaijan's parliamentary poll rallied in Baku on Wednesday (November 9), calling on President Ilham Aliyev to step down.
    Reuters reporters estimated at least 20,000 protesters, chanting "Freedom! Resign!" and waving orange flags like those held by anti-government crowds during Ukraine's 2004 revolution. They marched in orderly columns to Qelebe square as police looked on.
    "We have decided to give them one more chance, we appealed to Central Electoral Commission and presented all evidence that shows elections were a fraud. We demand to cancel the elections and we will continue the legal process to appeal against the outcome of the elections. At the same time our meetings and rallies will continue until the government agrees to cancel the fraudulent results," said Ali Kerimli, leader of the National Front Party and one of three leaders of the Azadlyq bloc.
    Sunday's election, criticised by observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, handed a huge parliamentary majority to Aliyev's supporters, while the Azadlyq opposition block gained a mere handful of seats.
    Election officials bowed to the criticism and ordered re-runs in two disputed constituencies where Aliyev loyalists beat opposition candidates. They said they were looking at serious reports of fraud in several others.
    Analysts doubt the opposition in the oil-rich south Caucasus country has enough support to overturn the election result and overthrow the establishment, as happened in Ukraine, but the protests will be a further test for Azerbaijan's leadership.
    Clashes between opposition protesters and police turned bloody after Aliyev's victory in a presidential poll in 2003, but the marchers on Wednesday were calm.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register