POLLS have opened in an early presidential election in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan.
Voting began on Wednesday in the oil-rich Caspian Sea nation where incumbent Ilham Aliyev is expected to win by a landslide.
Around 80 per cent of voters are thought to support the president, who succeeded his father in 2003.
Heydar Aliyev ruled Azerbaijan initially as Communist Party leader before becoming the post-Soviet president for almost three decades.
Since his son won the last election in 2013, Azerbaijan’s constitution has been amended to extend the presidential term from five to seven years.
Aliyev’s critics denounced the 2016 plebiscite as effectively cementing a dynastic rule.
The election was originally scheduled to be take place in the autumn but was brought forward to April.
Officials said the move was made because the country would be busy with various high-profile events in late 2018.
Although the leader of the majority Shia Muslim nation has faced criticism for for alleged human rights abuses and suppression of dissent, he has sought to ally Azerbaijan to the West – offsetting Russian influence in the Caspian region.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel