European monitors says Azerbaijan’s election took place in a restrictive environment

By AIDA SULTANOVA
Associated Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe says Azerbaijan’s presidential election took place in a “restrictive” environment and that critical voices were silenced. Preliminary results released on Thursday indicated Aliyev’s resounding victory in the presidential vote. The head of the Central Election Commission said most votes from Wednesday’s balloting had been counted and Aliyev was winning the race with more than 92% of votes in his favor. It means Aliyev heads into another seven-year term in office just months after his troops retook the Karabakh region from ethnic Armenian forces who controlled it for three decades.