Ruling party claims victory in Azerbaijan election; OSCE alleges fraud

President Haydar Aliyev casts his ballot at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Baku, Azerbaijan on Sunday

In this story: 'Not a small child' Western monitors' allegations a blow RELATED STORIES, SITES

BAKU, Azerbaijan (Reuters) -- Azerbaijan's ruling party said it had won control of parliament in an election on Sunday seen as a step toward the first transfer of power from father to son in a former Soviet state.

Officials from at least two Western election observer delegations, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said boxes had been stuffed with phoney ballots, though the extent of the fraud was not clear.

The allegations will further undermine the oil-rich Caspian Sea country's shaky democratic credentials ahead of discussions later this week on a bid for membership in the Council of Europe human rights and democracy club.

All eyes on polling day were on Ilham Aliyev, the son of 77-year-old president Haydar Aliyev. Ilham Aliyev debuted as leader of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan's party list and heir to his father's overwhelming political propaganda, if not to his post.

"Yeni Azerbaijan received a victory, and an absolute majority of seats in parliament will be held by our party," Ali Akhmedov, the party's executive secretary, told a news conference shortly after midnight on Monday morning.

Opposition parties said the vote was rigged. Many of their candidates were not allowed onto the ballot. But the ruling party's Akhmedov denied reports of fraud.

The president and his son had voted together in downtown Baku, and Haydar Aliyev played down suggestions Ilham would become parliament speaker -- automatic interim successor if the president leaves office early.

But ruling party officials have openly said that is their plan. Banners, billboards and fawning television coverage left little doubt the younger man is being groomed for leadership.

Soldiers gather near the entrance of a polling station during Sunday's elections in Baku

'Not a small child'

President Aliyev shrugged off the succession talk, laughing heartily when asked at the polling station if he saw his son as a future president.

"That's up to my son. He's not a small child," the president said. "As for my own preferences, that's my business."

But he also said: "As far as I know, Ilham Aliyev has no desire for the job of parliament speaker." Yeni Azerbaijan's deputy secretary, Siyavush Novruzov, had said last week that Ilham was the party's unanimous choice for the post.

Ilham, standing behind his father, beamed silently.

Azerbaijan is already plastered with billboards bearing the president's wise sayings, but in the past few months the ruling party's energies abruptly turned toward promoting his son.

Ilham's round, moustachioed face peers down from signs across the capital. Huge yellow party banners announce: "Yeni Azerbaijan brings INSPIRATION to the people!" The Azeri word for inspiration is "ilham," printed in bold red capital letters.

Still, critics have raised doubts about whether Ilham has the experience to handle top level political intrigue.

He has struggled to build a heavyweight's image despite a top post in the state oil firm and a parliament seat. He was often seen in Baku casinos before they were shut down in 1997.

Speculation has surrounded the president's health since a heart bypass last year. He was treated for flu in the United States in September and seemed thin and sallow on Sunday, but repeated a vow to run for a final five-year term in 2003.

Western monitors' allegations a blow

Western monitors' allegations of fraud will be a blow to a country anxious to boost its democratic image. The West has condemned previous Azeri elections as unfair, but the government had changed its laws this time and promised reforms.

Yet there was criticism even before the voting began because of a large number of opposition candidates excluded from ballots.

The main monitoring agency, the OSCE, sent nearly 200 observers. Its conclusions were not to be unveiled until Monday, but Gerard Stoudmann, head of the OSCE human rights office ODIHR, told Reuters there were irregularities.

"We had some problems with ballot stuffing -- not everywhere, but in some places -- and not allowing observers to observe counting," he said.

An official in another Western observer delegation said: "It looks like there was no improvement over previous elections, or maybe there's (only) some slight improvement."

His main concern was "how much fraud, ballot stuffing occurred," he said. "It definitely occurred. Whether it affected anything or was just haphazard and isolated is impossible to say at this time."

A man looks at election posters of a candidate from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, Ilham Aliyev, in Baku on Sunday

The opposition was unequivocal. Musavat party leader Isa Gambar said near noon: "Fraud has already started. The Aliyev team is preparing to falsify the election."

In all, 404 candidates competed for seats in 100 individual districts, and 13 parties and blocs vied for 25 additional seats decided by their proportion of votes countrywide. Figures released early on Monday put turnout at 68 percent.

The ruling party says its accomplishments have been luring billions of dollars in international oil investment, guarding political stability and steering a pro-Western foreign policy.

The opposition says oil money was squandered, rights are ignored, living conditions are poor and corruption is ruinous.

(Additional reporting by Margarita Antidze and Lada Yevgrashina)

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Republic of Azerbaijan
CIA -- The World Factbook 2000 -- Azerbaijan

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