Fairness an Issue, Even After Azerbaijan Votes

AKU, Azerbaijan — The slogan of Jamil Hasanli’s long-shot campaign to unseat Azerbaijan’s longtime president, Ilham Aliyev, in elections on Wednesday was “Enough!” Or, more specifically, as the red and white stickers plastered all over his headquarters and around this capital city made clear: enough corruption, enough monarchy, enough unemployment, enough stolen oil money, enough low-quality education and health services, enough disrespectful officials, and enough war over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Yet, with early results showing Mr. Hasanli headed to a resounding defeat — a loss that appeared preordained from the moment a referendum was adopted in 2009 clearing the way for Mr. Aliyev to seek a third five-year term — the more relevant issue was fairness, which seemed to be lacking in the election.

In an interview, Mr. Hasanli said his bid was hampered by a rushed campaign calendar, a lack of money and exposure in the state-controlled news media, and the indifference of the rest of the world. International observers indicated they would largely affirm his complaints in a report to be issued Thursday.

“In this election, the biggest shortage we had was time,” said Mr. Hasanli, a historian and history professor. Changes in election rules compressed the campaign to just three weeks. But Azerbaijan, an important American ally perched strategically between Russia and Iran, has 85 regions, most of which can be visited only by long car rides. “Within 21 days, it’s physically impossible to cover all these regions,” Mr. Hasanli said.

His most formidable obstacle, however, was Mr. Aliyev, who inherited the presidency 10 years ago from his father, Heydar Aliyev. Huge pictures of the elder Aliyev can still be found throughout Baku, and each year the younger Mr. Aliyev oversees an elaborate celebration of his father’s birthday on May 10.

“It’s a coronation,” Mr. Hasanli said, with a hint of exasperation.

Supporters of Mr. Aliyev say he has presided over the steady political development of the country after years of Soviet domination, cultivating in one of the world’s few predominantly Muslim nations a secular political tradition and relatively liberal social views.

They also say he has used the country’s oil wealth to raise living standards, including a glittering revival of Baku, which is now dotted with luxury homes built from elegant stone, skyscrapers and an array of new cultural sites.

“I voted for my president,” said a 65-year-old retired doctor leaving a polling station in a Russian-speaking section of downtown Baku. Like many Azerbaijanis, she did not want to give her name when discussing politics, even though she backed Mr. Aliyev. “He is young, energetic; he speaks Russian and English. Those parameters fit my requirements. I do not know other candidates and did not even try to know about them.”

“Look at this city,” she added. “It is beautiful because of him and his wife.”

Critics, however, say Mr. Aliyev is a heavy-handed autocrat in a country that has a poor record on human rights. In February, two political opposition leaders were arrested on charges of inciting riots in the city of Ismayilli, northwest of Baku. Lawyers for the men said the arrests were politically motivated and that their clients were merely visiting the city when protests broke out.

Outside the same polling station in downtown Baku, a 69-year-old retired lawyer said that the fear of political reprisal by the Aliyev government was genuine. “I voted for Jamil Hasanli because his campaign established some trust,” he said. “Ilham Aliyev is fine, but he does not care to gather smart people around him. He ignores corrupted officials.”

After securing the referendum in 2009 that lifted term limits, Mr. Aliyev portrayed his re-election as a foregone conclusion. He did virtually no campaigning and did not participate in debates, sending representatives in his place. In the debates, the 10 candidates each received six minutes, even as Mr. Aliyev dominated the state-controlled news media.

Many voters said they viewed Mr. Aliyev as the only choice. In a poverty-stricken neighborhood in the Yasamal district of Baku, several people displaced from the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan and Armenia have been at war over for more than 20 years, said they supported Mr. Aliyev.

“Even if Ilham Aliyev’s presidency did not affect the welfare of my family, it did help the nation,” said Vusala Ahmedova, 33, who lives in a room with her husband and three children. “I would like him to get our lands back so that we can move to our land that I left when I was 11.”

With more than 74 percent of precincts counted, the Central Election Commission said Mr. Aliyev had received nearly 85 percent of the vote, and Mr. Hasanli 5.2 percent. Shortly afterward, Mr. Aliyev thanked voters for their trust in a recorded statement on state television.

“I would like to assure the Azeri people that, in the future as well, I will serve them worthily and will always protect the state interests of Azerbaijan,” he said. Mr. Aliyev also praised the election as “free and transparent,” calling it “another serious step toward democracy.”

Even before results were announced, a victory celebration erupted outside the headquarters of Mr. Aliyev’s New Azerbaijan Party. Streets were closed as jubilant supporters danced and waved flags.

Nonetheless, the Hasanli campaign issued a statement accusing the government of widespread election fraud, including accusations of ballot-box stuffing and interfering with election monitors.

Initial reports from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament suggested that they would declare the election as failing to meet international standards. The groups scheduled a news conference for Thursday.

Shahla Sultanova contributed reporting.

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