Azerbaijan's leader wins fifth term in power

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Azerbaijan's leader of two decades, Ilham Aliyev, has won another five year term.

People take part in a motor rally following the announcement of exit poll results of the presidential elections in Baku, Azerbaijan, February 7, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Karimov

Nationalist fervor

Azerbaijan went to snap elections a year ahead of schedule on Wednesday, amid a wave of nationalist fervor. It follows a sudden military offensive in September that saw the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh returned to Azerbaijan after three decades in Armenian control.

While other candidates ran against Aliyev in the polls, several opposition groups staged a boycott, with Ali Kerimli of the Popular Front party, calling the event an "imitation of democracy."

Thousands of Aliyev's supporters celebrated on the streets, as officials announced he had won 92 percent of the vote on a turnout of over seventy percent.

"Indisputable victory"

Prior to polling, Aliyev described the election as the "beginning of a new era" after the victory in Nagorno Karabakh. Among the leaders first to offer him their congratulations were Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi and Hungary's Viktor Orban who called the result "enormous and indisputable."

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However, election monitors claimed the vote had been flawed.

Speaking in Baku, Arthur Gerasymov, coordinator from the EU backed Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe described the campaign as "devoid of genuine pluralism."

Observers also alleged vote tampering in some areas, citing what they claim was evidence of ballot stuffing.

EC President Ursula von der Leyen and President Ilham Aliyev attend a ceremony to mark the start of commercial operations of the gas interconnector link between Greece and Bulgaria, in Sofia, Bulgaria October 1, 2022. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

Azerbaijan's current leader took office in 2003 after the death of his father the late President Heydar Aliyev. The family came to power in 1993, two years after Azerbaijan gained independence from the former Soviet Union.

Azerbaijan, has become a major exporter of gas to the EU as sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine continue. The country has been called a "crucial partner" by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and is due to host the COP29 U.N. climate talks in November.