Ilham Aliyev was declared the winner in the snap presidential elections of Azerbaijan, held on February 7. According to the preliminary data from the Central Election Commission, 92% of voters cast their ballots for Aliyev, with a voter turnout of 77%.
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According to the information provided by the election commission, independent candidate Zahid Oruj, a deputy of parliament, secured second place based on the number of votes, receiving 2.2%.
Opposition parties do not acknowledge the election results. The Azerbaijani Popular Front Party contends that the outcomes of the February 7 elections fail to represent the will of the people and are deemed illegitimate, given the absence of competition, and pervasive pressure, fear, and threats during the voting process.
Emin Huseynov, the co-chairman of the Azerbaijani Civil Coalition in Exile (AZEX), asserts that in all previous elections, Aliyev typically garnered an average of 85% of the vote, but following the “military victories,” state propaganda has reported results exceeding 90%.
“To achieve such a result, the state apparatus had to mobilize not only civil servants but also students. What makes this election unique is that this time students were involved in the “carousel” voting scheme. The objective of the elections was to extend Ilham Aliyev's power for another seven years,” states Huseynov in an interview with Kavkazsky Uzel.
The leaders of Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Venezuela, and Belarus have already congratulated Ilham Aliyev on his victory.
The next presidential election in Azerbaijan was supposed to be held in 2025. However, according to Ilham Aliyev's decision, it was scheduled one and a half years earlier, on February 7, 2024. Aliyev cited the restoration of Azerbaijan's sovereignty and the beginning of a “new period” as a result of the military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023.
“Since the presidential election is the most important, I believe that the first election that should be held throughout the country should be the presidential election,” Aliyev said a few weeks before the election.
According to him, another reason for calling early elections is that in October 2023, 20 years of his tenure as president will be completed. “We have to take this as a kind of summary,” Aliyev said.
On February 7, Ilham Aliyev, along with his wife and children, cast their votes in Khankendi [Stepanakert – in Armenian]. A total of 26 polling stations were opened in Nagorno-Karabakh.
At the age of 62, Ilham Aliyev assumed the presidency in 2003 following the death of his father, Heydar Aliyev, and this year starts his fifth consecutive term in office.
