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Azerbaijan Presidentâs Son Wins Election
The son of Azerbaijanâs ailing president won an overwhelming victory in elections to choose his fatherâs successor, according to returns Thursday.
Wonder if Jimmah Carter made an appearance? One observer said there were so many problems with Wednesdayâs election — among them ballot-box stuffing and unmonitored voting — that he stopped trying to record them all. Idjit — what good is an observer who doesnât do his job? Tourist! Violence flared during the vote, with police clashing with protesters twice during an hours-long standoff in the capital, Baku. With more than two-thirds of Azerbaijanâs 5,111 districts reporting, President Geidar Alievâs son, Ilham Aliev, had nearly 80 percent of the votes, according to preliminary results posted by the Central Election Commission. His closest rival, Isa Gambar, had about 11 percent. Only 80%? Guess his advisors had long discussions about the exact amount of fraud to commit to have a "believable" result. As the count progressed, Aliev cleared a majority of the votes cast, meaning there would be no runoff with any of the other seven candidates, the commission said. Wotta surprise. Aliev stood for the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party after his father — hospitalized in the United States — pulled out of the race less than two weeks ago. More than 71 percent of the former Soviet republicâs 4.4 million electorate voted, election commission chairman Mazahir Panahov said. The other 29% will be jugged shortly. Gambar, leader of the opposition party Musavat, or Equality, claimed that he won a majority, charging that there were irregularities that favored Aliev. Many in Baku complained that they were prevented from registering and that others cast multiple votes. Inside his party headquarters, Gambar waved a stack of ballots marked for Aliev that he claimed had been filled out before the election, and claimed he soundly beat the presidentâs son in districts monitored by international observers. ``This is the beginning,ââ protester Majif Mammedalizade, 37, said of the demonstration. When voters wake up Thursday and ``everyone knows the vote is false, Ilham Aliev has no chance,ââ he said. One OSCE observer, Ivan Lozowy, said he eventually stopped recording irregularities because he saw so many at the 35 polling places he visited Wednesday. He said violations included multiple voting, falsified ballots, and ballot counting in absence of observers. Thanks Ivan, Iâm sure the International Criminial Court will consider your testimony someday far in the future. Even before election day, international organizations reported widespread irregularities, including biased media coverage, violence against opposition protesters ignited by police or pro-government provocateurs, and intimidation of opposition sympathizers. Ilham Aliev has threatened decisive action against anyone who resorts to violence over the election results. Like father, like son! Posted by: Steve White 2003-10-16 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=19940 |