The re-election of Ilham Aliyev as President of Azerbaijan for a fifth term has been confirmed according to preliminary results released after Wednesday evening’s vote count. This outcome was anticipated following early elections held months after Baku’s victorious swift attack against Armenian separatists in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The official reason cited for Aliyev (62 years old) advancing the election date, originally scheduled for 2025, was Azerbaijan’s reclaiming of its complete territories and regional sovereignty.
Chairman of Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission, Mazahir Panahov, announced Wednesday evening that the incumbent President Ilham Aliyev secured the presidential elections with 92.1% of the votes based on preliminary, non-final results.
Panahov further explained during a press conference that 4,971,000 voters participated in the presidential elections, with a turnout rate of 76.73%.
Independent candidate Zahid Oruj took second place with 2.2% of the votes, followed by the leader of the Great Establishment Party, Fazil Mustafa, with 1.99%, the Public Front Party leader, Gudrat Hasanguliyev, with 1.78%. The Great Azerbaijan Party leader, Razi Nurullayev, secured fifth place with 0.79%, followed by the Great Azerbaijan Party leader, Elshad Musayev, with 0.66%, and lastly, independent candidate Fuad Aliyev with 0.48%.
Wednesday morning saw the start of the voting process in the early presidential elections to select a new head of state in the oil-rich Republic situated in the South Caucasus and overlooking the Caspian Sea, with seven candidates vying for the position, notably the incumbent President Ilham Aliyev.
In parts of the capital city, Baku, long queues of voters formed at polling stations on Wednesday.
It is noteworthy that Ilham Aliyev assumed the presidency succeeding his father, Heydar Aliyev, in 2003 and has been re-elected ever since.
