Young and progressive leader wins Azerbaijani presidential polls – experts

Sergey Markov, head of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, said at a Moscow-Baku video conference at ITAR-TASS that the elections had two intresting points: the percentage of people voting for President Ilham Aliyev and the legitimacy of elections. Markov called Aliyev’s victory a ‘silent triumph’. He believes that people have faith in Aliyev due to his economic progress, comparable with that of China.

The Russian expert called Aliyev a flexible, progressive and young politician. The defeat of the opposition proved its weakness.

Eldar Geymutdinov emphasized that 10 years of power proved achievements of the president’s efforts. He noted that there were no violations and all the information was available.

Alexey Vlasov, Executive Director of the North-South Center for Political Analysis and Editor-in-Chief of Vestnik Kavkaza, congratulated the Azerbaijani nation on stable and peaceful elections. The expert called the elections a good signal of rating for the president. Vlasov predicts that Azerbaijan will see network oppositions in the next five years. He expects them to be Western-oriented.