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OFFICIALS: OIL-RICH AZERBAIJAN SCRAPS TERM LIMITS
By Aida Sultanova
AP
19 March 09
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) -- Election officials in Azerbaijan said Thursday
that citizens overwhelmingly voted to scrap presidential term limits
in the oil-rich country courted by Russia and the West. Opposition
leaders claimed the constitutional referendum was rigged and vowed
to dispute the outcome in courts.
The official result opens the door for indefinite rule by President
Ilham Aliyev in the Caspian Sea nation that critics say is closer to
a monarchy than a democracy. Based on returns from more than half the
polling stations counted, the Central Election Commission reported 92
percent of voters approving the referendum, with 71 percent turnout
in the country of 8 million people.
Aliyev's beleaguered opponents claimed the vote was riddled with
violations encouraged or organized by the state. They said their
observers witnessed abuses including ballot-box stuffing and multiple
voting. Ali Kerimli, head of the Popular Front party, said the
opposition believes actual turnout was no more than 15 percent.
"The referendum was not free or fair and we do not consider it valid,"
Kerimli told a news conference. He said the official results "do not
reflect the will of the people."
"The vote showed that the people have said 'no' to the ruling regime,"
said Isa Gambar, leader of the opposition Musavat party.
Opposition leaders had said bef ore the vote that they suspected its
timing reflected government concerns that plunging oil prices and
economic troubles could damage its popular support and weaken its grip.
Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea oil fields and its location straddling a
strategic corridor for westward oil and gas exports from Central
Asia -- bypassing Russia and Iran -- make it a focus in the struggle
between Moscow and the West for regional influence.
Aliyev is the son of the late Geidar Aliyev, who ruled Azerbaijan
first as the Communist Party boss during the Soviet times, then as
president in 1993-2003. He has courted Western oil money and moved to
strengthen ties with the U.S., including by sending troops to Iraq,
while maintaining mostly friendly ties with Russia.
The commission said voters on Wednesday also approved changes include
establishing financial and other benefits for former presidents and
prohibiting presidential and parliamentary elections during wartime.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory within Azerbaijan, has been controlled
by Armenians since a war that ended with a shaky cease-fire in
1994. Without a settlement of its status, a new armed conflict
remains possible.
Aliyev, 47, won his second term in October in an election that
opponents called unfair and foreign observers said fell short of
international democratic standards.
Opposition parties have reported serious government pressure in recent
years and Western governments ha ve expressed concern over the state's
treatment of critics and the independent media.
With ballots from more than half the polling places counted, only
8 percent of voters supported the current limit of two consecutive
five-year presidential terms, Central Election Commission chairman
Mazahir Panakhov said.
Other oil-rich ex-Soviet republics have made similar changes. Lawmakers
in Kazakhstan waived term limits for the long-ruling president in 2007,
and Russia's leadership pushed through a law last year extending the
presidential term from four years to six.
Voters approved 40 changes to Azerbaijan's constitution, Panakhov
said, according to the partial results, which he said were sufficient
to determine the outcome. The official turnout was far above the 25
percent needed to make the referendum count, and each proposed change
required a simple majority of votes cast.
By Aida Sultanova
AP
19 March 09
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) -- Election officials in Azerbaijan said Thursday
that citizens overwhelmingly voted to scrap presidential term limits
in the oil-rich country courted by Russia and the West. Opposition
leaders claimed the constitutional referendum was rigged and vowed
to dispute the outcome in courts.
The official result opens the door for indefinite rule by President
Ilham Aliyev in the Caspian Sea nation that critics say is closer to
a monarchy than a democracy. Based on returns from more than half the
polling stations counted, the Central Election Commission reported 92
percent of voters approving the referendum, with 71 percent turnout
in the country of 8 million people.
Aliyev's beleaguered opponents claimed the vote was riddled with
violations encouraged or organized by the state. They said their
observers witnessed abuses including ballot-box stuffing and multiple
voting. Ali Kerimli, head of the Popular Front party, said the
opposition believes actual turnout was no more than 15 percent.
"The referendum was not free or fair and we do not consider it valid,"
Kerimli told a news conference. He said the official results "do not
reflect the will of the people."
"The vote showed that the people have said 'no' to the ruling regime,"
said Isa Gambar, leader of the opposition Musavat party.
Opposition leaders had said bef ore the vote that they suspected its
timing reflected government concerns that plunging oil prices and
economic troubles could damage its popular support and weaken its grip.
Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea oil fields and its location straddling a
strategic corridor for westward oil and gas exports from Central
Asia -- bypassing Russia and Iran -- make it a focus in the struggle
between Moscow and the West for regional influence.
Aliyev is the son of the late Geidar Aliyev, who ruled Azerbaijan
first as the Communist Party boss during the Soviet times, then as
president in 1993-2003. He has courted Western oil money and moved to
strengthen ties with the U.S., including by sending troops to Iraq,
while maintaining mostly friendly ties with Russia.
The commission said voters on Wednesday also approved changes include
establishing financial and other benefits for former presidents and
prohibiting presidential and parliamentary elections during wartime.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory within Azerbaijan, has been controlled
by Armenians since a war that ended with a shaky cease-fire in
1994. Without a settlement of its status, a new armed conflict
remains possible.
Aliyev, 47, won his second term in October in an election that
opponents called unfair and foreign observers said fell short of
international democratic standards.
Opposition parties have reported serious government pressure in recent
years and Western governments ha ve expressed concern over the state's
treatment of critics and the independent media.
With ballots from more than half the polling places counted, only
8 percent of voters supported the current limit of two consecutive
five-year presidential terms, Central Election Commission chairman
Mazahir Panakhov said.
Other oil-rich ex-Soviet republics have made similar changes. Lawmakers
in Kazakhstan waived term limits for the long-ruling president in 2007,
and Russia's leadership pushed through a law last year extending the
presidential term from four years to six.
Voters approved 40 changes to Azerbaijan's constitution, Panakhov
said, according to the partial results, which he said were sufficient
to determine the outcome. The official turnout was far above the 25
percent needed to make the referendum count, and each proposed change
required a simple majority of votes cast.