Azerbaijan presidential election, 2003
Encyclopedia
A presidential election was held in Azerbaijan
on October 15, 2003. As expected, Ilham Aliyev
, son of the outgoing president, Heydar Aliyev
, was easily elected in an election which international observers held not to be free or fair.
Human Rights Watch
commented on these elections
: "Human Rights Watch research found that the government has heavily intervened in the campaigning process in favor of Prime Minister Ilham Aliev, son of current President Heidar Aliev. The government has stacked the Central Election Commission and local election commission with its supporters, and banned local non-governmental organizations from monitoring the vote. As the elections draw nearer, government officials have openly sided with the campaign of Ilham Aliev, constantly obstructing opposition rallies and attempting to limit public participation in opposition events. In some cases, local officials have closed all the roads into town during opposition rallies, or have extended working and school hours - on one occasion, even declaring a Sunday work day - to prevent participation in opposition rallies." (source: HTML format).
The Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe's (IDEE) organized 188 election observers for the October 15, 2003 presidential elections in Azerbaijan. This monitoring mission, requested by the U.S. government, formed part of a larger group of observers monitoring under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). In response to the OSCE/ODIHR Preliminary Report, the IDEE observers, who observed more than 1,000 voting precincts and Constituency Election Centers where votes were tabulated, collectively issued a "Votum Separatum," which expressed their outrage at the election fraud, intimidation and political repression they witnessed during their observation mission and their disagreement with the OSCE's mild preliminary report calling the elections "generally well administered."
(http://www.idee.org/azerbaijanelections.html)
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
on October 15, 2003. As expected, Ilham Aliyev
Ilham Aliyev
Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev is the President of Azerbaijan since 2003. He also functions as the Chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party and the head of the National Olympic Committee...
, son of the outgoing president, Heydar Aliyev
Heydar Aliyev
Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev , also spelled as Heidar Aliev, Geidar Aliev, Haydar Aliyev, Geydar Aliyev was the third President of Azerbaijan for the New Azerbaijan Party from June 1993 to October 2003, when his son Ilham Aliyev succeeded him.From 1969 till 1982, Aliyev was also the leader of Soviet...
, was easily elected in an election which international observers held not to be free or fair.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
commented on these elections
Azerbaijan presidential election, 2003
A presidential election was held in Azerbaijan on October 15, 2003. As expected, Ilham Aliyev, son of the outgoing president, Heydar Aliyev, was easily elected in an election which international observers held not to be free or fair....
: "Human Rights Watch research found that the government has heavily intervened in the campaigning process in favor of Prime Minister Ilham Aliev, son of current President Heidar Aliev. The government has stacked the Central Election Commission and local election commission with its supporters, and banned local non-governmental organizations from monitoring the vote. As the elections draw nearer, government officials have openly sided with the campaign of Ilham Aliev, constantly obstructing opposition rallies and attempting to limit public participation in opposition events. In some cases, local officials have closed all the roads into town during opposition rallies, or have extended working and school hours - on one occasion, even declaring a Sunday work day - to prevent participation in opposition rallies." (source: HTML format).
The Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe's (IDEE) organized 188 election observers for the October 15, 2003 presidential elections in Azerbaijan. This monitoring mission, requested by the U.S. government, formed part of a larger group of observers monitoring under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). In response to the OSCE/ODIHR Preliminary Report, the IDEE observers, who observed more than 1,000 voting precincts and Constituency Election Centers where votes were tabulated, collectively issued a "Votum Separatum," which expressed their outrage at the election fraud, intimidation and political repression they witnessed during their observation mission and their disagreement with the OSCE's mild preliminary report calling the elections "generally well administered."
(http://www.idee.org/azerbaijanelections.html)
- OSCEOrganization for Security and Co-operation in EuropeThe Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
's final report (source: HTML format or PDF format))