Azernews.Az

European and US observers have positively assessed October 15 presidential elections held in Azerbaijan.
The polling process proceeded in a low-key and normal environment, said Destex Alain, who headed the 41-people-strong observation mission comprising lawmakers and political analysts from 11 European countries.
"There were no major problems during the elections," Alain told the press Thursday.
He emphasized that European observers were actively involved in the process of vote count. He added, however, that the boycott of some opposition parties appeared "out of place" in the backdrop of a free and transparent electoral process.
The US observation mission issued similar feedback on Wednesday`s elections. The head of the mission, Gwen Belkurt, said it did not report any irregularities. American observers, who tracked down the polling in over 200 ballot stations, did not come across the violations that had been registered during previous polls.
Belkurt noted that the US mission`s final statement assessing the conduct of elections confirmed the election was conducted freely and fairly.
The US mission includes 40 observers, including former members of Congress and politicians.
Local observers praised the conduct of elections as well. The elections were democratic and complied with international standards, and no major irregularities were observed during the polling, the Association on Assistance to Civil Society Development, an Azerbaijani non-governmental organization that monitored the voting, said Thursday.
The ELS independent research center, which conducted exit polls throughout the country, said citizens showed willingness to take part in the surveys, which spoke volumes about public awareness ahead of the elections.
Seven candidates stood in the election, which was intensely watched by both local and international observers. According to preliminary tallies announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC), incumbent President Ilham Aliyev was overwhelmingly re-elected for a second five-year term, gaining nearly 89% of votes.
Three exit polls conducted by groupings of Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations each gave Aliyev over 80 percent.
The leader of the Umid (Hope) Party, Igbal Aghazada, gained 2.87% (101,759 votes), while Great Establishment Party chairman Fazil Gazanfaroghlu – 2.50% (88,494 votes). Gudrat Hasanguliyev of the Whole Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan claimed 2.30% of the popular vote, while the former chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) Supreme Council, independent candidate Gulamhuseyn Alibayli – 2.25%; the leader of the Azerbaijan Liberal-Democratic Party, Fuad Aliyev 0.78%, and Muasir (Modern) Musavat Party chairman Hafiz Hajiyev 0.65%.
Turnout was 75.64% of eligible voters, or about 4.8 million people, according to the CEC.*