President IlhamAliyev of Azerbaijan made history by securing yet another mandate from his people to serve the country. Aliyev, 62, was first elected President in 2003 after the death of his father Heydar Aliyev and in Wednesday’s presidential elections, people voted overwhelmingly in his favour giving him another term of seven years.
Electoral victory for President IlhamAliyev was a foregone conclusion given his immense popularity because of the services he rendered for the country and people during the last two decades.
The holding of snap elections is anchored on two key themes: the “full restoration of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty”. The liberation of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan from Armenian occupation undoubtedly represents a momentous achievement, solidifying Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity while bolstering President IlhamAliyev’s domestic standing. As the country embarks on a “new era,” the election is seen as a mandate for a fresh start, legitimizing a new chapter in Azerbaijan’s history. Another key rationale revolves around inclusivity. For the first time in its independent history, Azerbaijan aims to conduct presidential elections in every corner of the nation, including the liberated territories. This move underscores the government’s commitment to national unity and signifies the complete reintegration of previously occupied regions into the political fabric of the country.
For Azerbaijan, the full restoration of control over its Karabakh region marked a triumphant end to 30 years of intermittent war and a chance for hundreds of thousands of former IDPs to return to their 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 the head of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) observer mission and CIS Secretary General Sergei Lebedev, the turnout of voters was fairly high in the snap elections, which was reflective of the 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 IlhamAliyev 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.
