2015 Azerbaijani parliamentary election Sunday Nov 01,2015

 

Azerbaijan's ruling party won an outright majority Sunday in parliamentary polls that were boycotted by the mainstream opposition, near-complete results showed, cementing strongman President Ilham Aliyev's grip on power

The Central Election Commission said Ilham Aliyev's Yeni (New) Azerbaijan party took at least 69 seats in the country's 125-seat parliament, with 91 percent of votes counted.

International rights groups have cast doubt on the election, accusing the government of jailing political opponents on trumped-up charges and limiting parties' ability to campaign in the ex-Soviet state.

Not a single election held in Azerbaijan since Ilham Aliyev came to power in 2003 has been recognised as free and fair by international observers.

Ilham Aliyev took over in 2003 on the death of his father Heydar Aliyev, a former KGB officer and communist-era leader who had ruled newly independent Azerbaijan with an iron fist since 1993.
The mainly Muslim country wedged between Iran and Russia is considered key to Western efforts to reduce Europe's reliance on Russian hydrocarbon.
Depending largely on its energy exports, the country was hit by a drop in oil and gas prices and the global economic downturn, and in late February 2015 devalued its currency, the manat, by 34 percent against the dollar.
More than 700 candidates from 13 parties and one bloc were standing for the single-house parliament, the Milli Majlis, to be elected for a five-year term.
Over 5.9 million people were registered to vote.