2003 presidential elections
The official results of the October 15, 2003, elections gave victory to İlham Aliyev, who earned 76.84% of the votes. However, the domestic opposition refused to accept the results and staged mass protests. The protests were due to alleged corruption and staging of elections. Hundreds of demonstrators were beaten, and later arrested. Aliyev took office on October 31, despite opposition complaints. The U.S. government supported Aliyev's election.
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The elections received harsh criticism from the international community, with many observers noting that they fell short of international standards and were accompanied by voter intimidation, unequal campaign opportunities for the candidates, and widespread violations of the electoral laws and process. The
OSCE International Election Observation Mission noted a number of irregularities in the counting and tabulation.
[3] Human Rights Watch complained that Aliyev's election campaign had been supported by government resources and that the Central Election Commission and local election commissions had been stacked with its supporters, while local non-governmental organizations had been banned from monitoring the vote.
[4] Numerous journalists, among them
Eynulla Fatullayev, have been persecuted for their criticism of Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani government.
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