Elections in Azerbaijan: the Russian view

By Vestnik Kavkaza

Yesterday the Central Election Committee of Azerbaijan finished counting of votes from all polling stations at the presidential elections. According to the CEC, current President Ilham Aliyev gained 84.55%. Yesterday the Russian view on the presidential elections in Azerbaijan  was presented at the press conference organized by Vestnik Kavkaza.

Ismail Agakishiyev, vice-president of the union of companies Consulting-Analysis-PR, associate professor of MSU, who was present at the elections told about the voting process: “There were a lot of observers, more than a thousand. And there were a lot of people, observers from Russia, the CIS countries, whose opinions were most curious for us. At about 11 o’clock Lebedev made a statement which we attended and in which he noted that the elections are very transparent, honest, and all the conditions have been created in order to do so. At the poll stations, everything was calm, there was no pressure and no stress. Today in Azerbaijan every one of you can come and make sure that at night you can walk and enjoy it, and the city does not sleep. It is especially beautiful at night.”

According to Agakishiyev, “this was achieved exactly by the policy which was founded by Heydar Aliyev , and this policy was successfully continued by Ilham Aliyev. In this power, there are representatives of the entire nation. When we say "Azerbaijani nation ", we are referring to the Lezghins living in this territory, and the Talysh living in this territory, the Turks living in this area, the Avars who live in the area, and so on. It is their common homeland, and today they are pleased that the word "Azeri" , not only in Russia, has the respect. The word "Azeri" is respected in Europe, too. How can you help voting for such a family? How can you help voting for such a president? Why do I say "family"? Because the whole family is devoted to its country, its people, and they all work, led by President Ilham Aliyev.”

Alexander Dzasokhov, the former president of North Ossetia, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, deputy chairman of the Russian Commission on UNESCO Affairs, thinks the results of the elections in Azerbaijan are good news for Russia: “A new stage of office of President Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev applied to the Azerbaijani-Russian relations is crucial and key in maintaining and developing close neighborly relations.”

“Very much has been done so that the country could develop, and Azerbaijan demonstrates very important successes in foreign policy. We should keep well in our memory, and in the future - in our actions, that in the coming five years, the relations between Moscow and Baku will be developed progressively. The potential of our diplomatic and political opportunities is moving forward and has a great future. The elections were held, and our two states are now implementing their tasks in the hectic conditions previously unknown in the circumstances of this scale, which are characterized by excessive politicizing of Islam and attempts in some countries of the Middle East, to the south of the border of Azerbaijan and Russia, to adopt Islam as a tool for solving political and governmental objectives. In this sense, I want to emphasize with high regard that Azerbaijan is a good example of respect for the spiritual and religious values, and all of this is combined with the secular nature of the state and the foundations of public life in Azerbaijan.”
 
Alexei Vlasov , editor-in- chief of Vestnik Kavkaza, expressed his view that "a fundamentally different agenda has been formed, and it happened at the turn of the XX century. You can get, three hours from Baku, to any of the areas - for example , to the Gabala region , and you will see the same thing - huge projects related to the development of tourism or the infrastructure of entertainment that show where the actual funds received from the sale of oil and gas are invested . Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly stressed that the priority is the vector of development of youth projects and youth programs. This applies to business, education, the opportunities for self-realization. That is, young people are offered a very clear and distinct agenda including certain motifs of development, which, of course, provide support for those programs, which are promoted by the President of Azerbaijan, among the people that were born after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This is a very important point, because in many post-Soviet countries, we are seeing a generational gap between the motives of the senior and middle-aged generations and the dreams of the young people. The country has enough resources to be not the object of a complex game of the geopolitical region but an equal subject promoting its position and defending it in talks with major world powers. And this also predetermined, in my opinion , the success of Ilham Aliyev during the election.”