Parliamentary elections were held in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

on 7 November 2010.

Candidates

The registration of candidates ended on 15 October. Although 1,115 candidates filed application to run in the election, only 690 were given the go ahead by the electoral commission.

Conduct

The elections were observed by monitors from the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

(OSCE) and the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

. OSCE stated that the election campaign had been marred by restrictions on

media freedom Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is int ...

and

freedom of assembly Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right or ability of individuals to peaceably assemble and collectively express, promote, pursue, and defend their ideas. The right to free ...

. Many opposition candidates were unable to register themselves, thus creating an "uneven playing field", according to the OSCE. The pre-election atmosphere was tense with the media complaining of pressure and intransparent financial transactions of state officials. The observation mission of the PACE reported that "the whole election process showed progress in reaching Assembly and OSCE standards and commitments" but that "significant progress would still be necessary to reach an overall electoral and democratic consensus". Many national and foreign experts found no major improvement in the conduct of these elections. No elections after 1992 was fully in accordance with national and international democratic standards. So far Azerbaijan has been convicted twice of election fraud during the 2005 parliamentary elections by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. In April it was regarding Nemat Aliyev's case, and in September regarding Flora Karimova's. Prior to the elections, the government amended visa regulations, making it more difficult for election observers and journalists to enter the country.

Results

President

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

's ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party got a majority of 71 out of 125 seats. Nominally independent candidates, who were aligned with the government, received 38 seats, and 10 small opposition or quasi-opposition parties got the remaining 13 seats. Civic Solidarity retained its 3 seats, and Ana Vaten kept the 2 seats they had in the previous legislature; the Democratic Reforms party, Great Creation, the Movement for National Rebirth, Umid, Civic Unity, Civic Welfare, Adalet (Justice), and the Popular Front of United Azerbaijan, most of which were represented in the previous parliament, won one seat a piece. For the first time in Azerbaijani history, not a single candidate from the main opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front (AXCP) or Musavat parties was elected. The opposition

Musavat The Müsavat Party (, from ''musāwāt'', ) is the oldest existing political party in Azerbaijan. Its history can be divided into three periods: Early Musavat, Musavat-in-exile and New Musavat. The party was prohibited from contesting the 1995 ...

decried the election as "illegitimate... heevents had nothing to do with elections, it was the most shameful kind of election." Ruling president, Aliyev, however, said the election was fair.

Reactions

Western observers and the opposition alleged irregularities. The elections were observed by monitors from the

(OSCE) and the

. The OSCE reported that on election day there were cases of

ballot-stuffing Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...

References

{{Azerbaijani elections Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan Azerbaijani Azerbaijani

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results