Azerbaijan president’s party retains dominance in parliament election

Preliminary results of Azerbaijan’s parliamentary elections show the party of Azerbaijan’s strongman president has retained dominance. An international observer mission said the vote did not offer voters genuine political alternatives. In the Sunday vote for the 125-seat Milli Majlis, the New Azerbaijan party of President Ilham Aliyev won 68 seats. 45 went to independents and the remainder were won by candidates from small parties, that are mostly pro-president. A leader of the observer mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the elections took place in a restrictive political and legal environment. Aliyev and his later father Heydar have led Azerbaijan since 1993, suppressing opposition and restricting independent news media.