Thursday, February 16, 2012

Transmission

Azerbaijan -- Vote Early And Often

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March 18, 2009

Voters in Azerbaijan went to the polls today to take part in a referendum on amendments to the constitution, including one that would put an end to presidential term limits, prompting fears that Ilham Aliyev will stay in office indefinitely.

Azerbaijan has never held an election that was judged to be free and fair by international observers.

RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service correspondents reported witnessing various violations, including the bussing of voters from one polling station to another, open stuffing of ballot boxes, and illegal election-day campaigning. This woman in Baku, documented by our service, appears to be voting three times:



-- Dan Wisniewski

Tags: fraud , Azerbaijan , election

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by: azeri from: azerbaijan
March 19, 2009 10:15
I know people who voted multiple times, teachers cast votes for their students, and people were threatened that they would be fired if they voted against it. This was not a fair election. It was completely false, and the RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service correspondants are responsible for covering up the violations.

About This Blog

Written by RFE/RL editors and correspondents, Transmission serves up news, comment, and the odd silly dictator story. While our primary concern is with foreign policy, Transmission is also a place for the ideas -- some serious, some irreverent -- that bubble up from our bureaus. The name recognizes RFE/RL's role as a surrogate broadcaster to places without free media. You can write us at transmission+rferl.org