2008 Azerbaijani presidential election

Background

The incumbent, Ilham Aliyev, was nominated by the New Azerbaijan Party for a second term on 3 August 2008. Musavat, the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, the Azerbaijan Liberal Party, the Citizen and Progress Party, and the Azerbaijan Democratic Party announced their boycott of the election due to unfair conditions. In response, an aide to Aliyev claimed that the opposition withdrew because it "knew that President Aliyev would win the elections with a majority." A total of seven candidates filed to run in the election. Each of the candidates had to collect 40,000 support signatures.

Campaigning officially began in mid-September. The candidates were limited to a four-week campaigning period by law. According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, IRFS and RSF, the media (state-owned and private) showed bias in favor of Aliyev's candidacy.

Conduct

The election was observed by more than 500 international observers, mostly from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The OSCE said that there was progress in the elections compared to past ones, however it did not meet international standards, because of the lack of competition to incumbent Ilham Aliyev. The NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, declared "He welcomes reports from the international election observers from OSCE, Council of Europe and the European Parliament indicating progress in the conduct of Azerbaijan’s presidential elections on 15 October 2008. Azerbaijan should build on this achievement and address the remaining shortcomings that were noted."

Avez Temirhan of the election-boycotting Azerbaijan Liberal Party said, "This leadership is not legitimate and its election does not reflect the will of the people."

Results

A total of seven candidates registered with the Central Election Commission.

The incumbent, Ilham Aliyev, won the election with over 88% of the vote, and Igbal Aghazade came in second with 2.86%. Voter turnout was 75.1%. Fuad Aliyev and Hafiz Hajiev, as in 2003, received fewer votes than supporting signatures. Eight polling places' votes were invalidated.

References

References

1. Synovitz, Ron. "Azerbaijan's Opposition Cries 'Foul' As President Reelected". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.
2. (2008-10-16). "US welcomes 'progress' in Azerbaijan election".
3. (2008-08-03). "Azerbaijani president to run for 2nd term in October elections". [[People's Daily]].
4. (2008-10-16). "Observers criticise Azerbaijan president's re-election".
5. (2008-09-17). "Azerbaijani Presidential Election Campaign Opens". [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]].
6. Socor, Vladimir. (2008-09-23). "Azerbaijan's presidential election campaign kicks off". [[The Jamestown Foundation]].
7. (2008-10-10). "Opposition parties define 500 observers for presidential elections in Azerbaijan". Today.Az.
8. (2008-10-16). "Azerbaijan's presidential poll marked considerable progress, but did not meet all election commitments". [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.
9. (2008-10-17). "Aliyev Wins Nearly 90% of Vote". [[The Moscow Times]].
10. (2008-10-17). "NATO SECRETARY GENERAL CALLS ON AZERBAIJAN'S AUTHORITIES TO CORRECT SHORTCOMINGS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN AZERBAIJAN".
11. (2008-10-17). "Azeri opposition decries Aliyev election victory". [[Daily Times (Pakistan).
12. (2008-09-15). "List of the registered candidates related to Presidential Elections of the Republic of Azerbaijan appointed on October 15, 2008". Central Election Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
13. ""Seçkilər" İnformasiya Mərkəzi". "Election" Information Center.
14. link. (2008-10-24). AnNews.ru