Presidential Elections held in 2013 in Azerbaijan, considered rigged
2013 Azerbaijani presidential election|
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Turnout | 71.62% |
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Map_of_2008%2C_2013%2C_and_2018_Azerbaijani_presidential_elections.png/300px-Map_of_2008%2C_2013%2C_and_2018_Azerbaijani_presidential_elections.png) |
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Presidential elections were held in Azerbaijan on 9 October 2013.[1] The result was a victory for incumbent President Ilham Aliyev, who received a reported 85% of the vote, whilst leading opposition candidate Jamil Hasanli finished second with a reported 6% of the vote.
The elections were marred by claims of irregularities; official results were accidentally released by the government's Central Election Commission through a mobile app before voting began, giving incumbent Aliyev a victory with 73% of the vote.[2] The commission later recalled the results, claiming that they were taken from the 2008 elections.[2] The claim was disputed, given that the results accidentally released included the candidates from the 2013 elections,[2] and that the percentages differed from the 2008 results.
Opposition candidates were imprisoned and repressed in the lead-up to the elections, which led the European Court of Human Rights to issue a judgment against the Aliyev regime.[3][4][5] The Aliyev regime put up numerous non-genuine candidates to confuse voters and dilute support for opposition candidates.[4] Freedom of speech was restricted prior to the elections.[4] OSCE monitors reported candidate and voter intimidation and a restrictive media environment, including arrests and the use of force against journalists and activists. 92% of the coverage on the six main TV channels were dedicated to the incumbent president.[6]