OCT. 19 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Ilham Aliyev was sworn in as Azerbaijan’s president for his third five-year term despite protests from opposition groups that the Oct. 9 election was flawed. The ceremony took place in the Azerbaijani parliament after the constitutional court confirmed Mr Aliyev’s election victory with 85% of the vote.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 157, published on Oct. 23 2013)

OCT. 16 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — In the end, it pretty much went to script. Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s 51-year-old leader, won his third presidential election on Oct. 9 with 85 percent of the vote; Western observer said the vote was flawed; the opposition called on their supporters to protest.

None of this is remarkable because elections in Azerbaijan have tended to follow this script.

But, there were still some important characteristics worth considering.

For a start, Mr Aliyev didn’t take part in debates with other candidates and didn’t really bother to campaign.

Then there was the, apparent, early release of the election results on an official iPad app.

The Azerbaijani authorities said the app, which appeared to leak results the day before voting even began, was simply a poorly timed test.

The main opposition group also ran a stuttering campaign. They switched candidates at the last minute because their preferred candidate failed to qualify for the vote.

Perhaps most importantly, though, the OSCE, Europe’s main media freedom and election watchdog said the vote was flawed. It said there had been numerous accounts of voter intimidation and irregularities. Then again, Azerbaijan has never held an election considered free and fair.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 156, published on Oct. 16 2013)

OCT. 9 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijanis vote in a presidential election today that will hand the incumbent, Ilham Aliyev, his third term in power. International observers, who have never judged an election in Azerbaijan to be free and fair, will give a closely-watched verdict of the vote.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 155, published on Oct. 9 2013)

OCT. 9 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijanis will vote today in their sixth presidential election since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

This election, like the last five, will deliver an Aliyev to the presidential palace. Supporters of Ilham Aliyev, 51, will celebrate his third victory but there is much work to do before they can congratulate themselves on building a genuine legacy to bequeath future generations.

Despite the massive resource-driven growth over the last decade, there are major problems. Some of these problems, especially the inequality gap and the human rights and media freedom environments, appear to be worsening.

As well as pushing through major new pipeline plans and continuing to pressure foreign investors, led by BP, to increase oil and gas production from the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan also has to confront major structural problems.

A lob-sided economy is skewed towards the energy sector, inflating Azerbaijan’s currency and making it harder for the non-energy sector to grow.

The World Bank’s Doing Business 2013 noted that excessive and turgid bureaucracy also held back Azerbaijan’s competitiveness position, a mid-ranking 67.

Another area it highlighted was weak infrastructure.

Azerbaijani society is also riven through with inequality and corruption. These two issues have generated frustration which has bubbled over. Earlier this year accusations of corruption against a regional official and his family triggered the worst violence in Azerbaijan for a decade.

Azerbaijan’s fledgling opposition and international pressure groups also accuse Mr Aliyev and his security forces of using repressive reactionary tactics against them, perhaps a reaction to the potential spread of the so-called Arab Spring of 2011.

People are getting richer in Azerbaijan but there are real problems that need to be mended in Mr Aliyev’s third term as president.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 155, published on Oct. 9 2013)