Presidential election in Azerbaijan - as a Victory election

By SHAHIN ABDULLAYEV, AZERBAIJAN’S AMBASSADOR

Today, with great pride, the extraordinary presidential elections of February 7, 2024 have entered the history of Azerbaijan as a Victory election.

The historic victory won by our people in the 44-day Patriotic War in 2020 and in the one-day local anti-terrorist events in September 2023 was firmly strengthened by the presidential elections on February 7, which were completed in conditions of great unity and organization.

The main feature of the 2024 Azerbaijani presidential election was that for the first time in the history of Azerbaijan they were held throughout the entire territory of the country, including the liberated Karabakh region, which was liberated in 2020-2023 from some 30 years of Armenian occupation.

For the first time in Azerbaijan’s post-Soviet history, 26 polling stations opened in Karabakh. The liberation of Karabakh led to a huge spike of Aliyev’s popularity in Azerbaijan. Incumbent Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is leading with 92.1% votes, according to the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC).

Independent candidate Zahid Oruj, Aliyev’s closest rival, trailed with 2.17% of the vote, while five others got less than 2% each. All the other contenders congratulated Aliyev on his victory and said that they have no reason to dispute the outcome.

Presidential election in Azerbaijan in 2024 was successful, free, fair and allowed citizens of Azerbaijan with active voting right and attaining the age of 18 to realize their civil and political right. With a total of 6,478,623 people on the voter list, voting took place at 6,537 polling sites across the country.

Over 90,000 observers have enrolled to oversee the election. 1000 polling stations were equipped with webcams to provide internet users with the opportunity to watch the whole voting process online via the CEC website.

International observers noted that the polling stations were well organized, providing free and full access for voters giving preference to their candidates. A transparent system operated, allowing observers from political parties, and local and international observers to closely follow the entire election process.

The election went smoothly and peacefully. After the closing of the polling station, the representative of the delegation took part in observing the counting of votes and summarizing the results at various polling stations, which was conducted openly and transparently.

The voting process was organized following the Electoral Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan and was technically efficient. Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Mr. Hissein Brahim Taha also congratulated the people of Azerbaijan on the successful organization of the presidential elections.

The OIC team concluded its monitoring functions and pointed out that the electoral process was conducted in a transparent, free and organized manner, with a high turnout of voters to exercise their political and civic rights.

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan made history by securing yet another mandate from his people to serve the country. Electoral victory for President Ilham Aliyev was a foregone conclusion given his immense popularity because of the services he rendered for the country and people during the last two decades.

It was because of his unchallenged position that the President announced snap elections, which were originally due in October 2025 and the results of the polling showed his trust in his people was not misplaced.

The popularity of the President received a boost when Azerbaijan was able to reclaim Karabakh from Armenian occupation. For Azerbaijan, restoration of control over Karabakh marked a triumphant end to 30 years of intermittent war and a chance for hundreds of thousands of internal refugees to return home.

It was for the first time that elections were held at the same time throughout the country including territories liberated from Armenian occupation. According to international observer missions the turnout of voters was fairly high in the snap elections, which was reflective of keen interest of the people in the political process and their enthusiasm to vote for the incumbent President.

The elections are widely acknowledged as fair and transparent and this was also evident from the fact that a total of 90,372 observers were registered to monitor the election, with 790 of them representing 72 international organizations from 89 countries.

The landslide victory of President Ilham is understandable as under his leadership Azerbaijan scaled new heights of socio-economic progress. He pursued the path of modernization in all spheres of life and the transformation encompassed a wide range of initiatives, from building new transportation corridors to engaging displaced populations in liberated territories and enhancing human capital.

The country has oil resources but the President took a series of measures for diversification of the economy and in this connection special focus is laid on information technology, transport and logistics infrastructure and modernization of the agriculture sector.

The policies of the President led to the improvement of the quality of life of Azerbaijani people and this is one of the major factors contributing to his enviable popularity. Ilham Aliyev, who successfully led the Republic of Azerbaijan, brought our country and people to a new stage of historical development, left an indelible mark on our history with his great victory in the February 7 elections, and presented a great report of 20 years of development, also confirmed that he is a leader who can guarantee a greater future.

In conclusion, we would like to proudly note that in these elections, the people of Azerbaijan have once again demonstrated their commitment to democracy and institutional and economic development, and we are honored to be a part of this important journey of development and progress.

(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Daily Tribune)