Azerbaijan's Aliyev wins fourth term as president

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Ilham Aliyev won a fourth term as president of Azerbaijan on Wednesday with over 86 percent of votes.

The former Soviet republic's huge energy reserves and strategic location on the Caspian Sea make it an important alternative for Europe to Russian oil and gas.

"Ilham Aliyev is leading ... He got 86.09 percent of votes," Mazahir Panahov, the Central Election Commission chairman told a news conference.

Polling station officials count the ballots after the voting process ended for the presidential election in Baku, Azerbaijan, April 11, 2018. /VCG Photo

The partial results were based on the 65 percent of the ballots counted, he said.

"I am grateful to my people for voting for our achievements and success," Aliyev said on state television, soon after the election commission announced the first results.

"People voted for stability, security and development."

The ruling New Azerbaijan Party claimed Aliyev's victory two hours after polls closed.

Dozens of cars honking and carrying the flags of Azerbaijan and Aliyev's ruling party cruised down Oilman Avenue, a central Baku thoroughfare whose high-priced boutiques have come to symbolize the massive oil revenues enjoyed by the Azeri elite.

The election commission said turnout was about 75 percent and there were no complaints about irregularities.

Candidates' posters line on a billboard ahead of the upcoming Presidential elections in Azerbaijan on April 10, 2018 in Baku, Azerbaijan. /VCG Photo

Aliyev, 56, was first elected in October 2003, two months before the death of his father, Heydar Aliyev, who ruled for 10 years.

He cemented his position with two referendums, one in 2009 that scrapped a two-term presidential limit and another in 2016 that extended the presidential term to seven years from five.

Aliyev brought forward the date of the vote to April 11 from Oct. 17, a move to avoid presidential and parliamentary elections clashing in 2025.

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Source(s): Reuters