Ruling party celebrates victory in Azerbaijan parliamentary vote
Azerbaijan's ruling party has won an outright majority in parliamentary elections fortifying President Ilham Aliyev's grip on power.
Sunday’s results showed that at least 69 seats of the 125-seat parliament were taken by the ruling Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party.
More than 700 candidates from 13 different political parties and one bloc were competing to be elected for a five-year term in the single-house parliament, called the Milli Majlis.
Over 5.9 million people were registered to vote and the voter turnout stood at 55.7 percent, the national Central Election Commission announced shortly after the results were released.
The polls were boycotted by the country’s main opposition parties including the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF), the Musavat party, and the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan.
The leader of the opposition Musavat party, Isa Gambar, told AFP on Sunday that a win for Aliyev's party was a foregone conclusion "in the absence of strong opposition candidates and amid widespread violations".
There were "countless instances of electoral fraud, including multiple voting and illegal restrictions on observers' work,” he added.
The NCDF and another major opposition party, the Republican Alternative (REAL), both announced that they would not recognize the results.
President Ilham Aliyev shot back at the opposition criticizing their boycott of the elections as "unacceptable."
Since 2003 when Aliyev came to power, international observers have refused to recognize any elections in Azerbaijan as free and fair, according to AFP.
International rights groups say the Azerbaijani government has clamped down on opponents since Aliyev won a third consecutive term in 2013.
Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International condemned what they called the authorities' systematic attacks on opponents in the lead-up to Sunday's vote.
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