According to the electoral commission, the ruling party of the authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev has early parliamentary elections won in AzerbaijanAliyev’s New Azerbaijan party won 68 seats in the 125-seat parliamentary chamber, the commission said on Monday. 45 seats went to independent candidates and 11 to candidates from nine other parties, all of which are considered pro-government.
According to the results, only one opposition candidate made it into parliament. The opposition Musavat party spoke of “massive violations”including multiple votes. International observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) planned to publish their findings later on Monday.
None of the elections held during Aliyev’s 20-year rule has so far been reported by international observers as classified as free and fairAliyev had brought forward Sunday’s election so that the vote would not clash with the UN climate conference COP29, which will take place in Baku from November 11 to 22.
Given the President’s power, the Parliament in Azerbaijan has only limited influence on the fate of the country. (AFP)
