The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Baku

The president of oil-rich Azerbaijan has been re-elected to a second five-year term by landslide, according to early official returns released Thursday. With 70 percent of precincts counted, Ilham Aliyev won 89.04 percent of Wednesday's vote, Central Election Commission chief Mazahir Panahov said.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which sent more than 400 election observers, has criticized the government for election campaign irregularities, including a ban on public opposition meetings and apparent efforts to coerce students and government workers into attending pro-Aliyev rallies. Aliyev, who has led oil-rich Caspian nation since 2003 succeeding his late father, faced six opponents in Wednesday's vote, none of whom was considered a true challenge. Aliyev's rivals rushed to congratulate him on the victory after the early returns were announced. "These elections have opened a new stage in the country's development and open a new chapter in relations between the government and the opposition," said one of them, Iqbal Aga-Zade. The top five opposition parties all boycotted the ballot, claiming official fraud and pointing at a history of closing independent media and imprisoning opposition figures.

But despite the lack of suspense, the mood in the capital was buoyant, in marked contrast to the violence that marred the aftermath of the 2003 presidential elections.

Hundreds of the president's jubilant supporters streamed into the streets shortly after polls closed at 7 p.m. local time Wednesday and celebrated his victory late into the night. Caravans of cars flying Azeri flags and bearing portraits of the president clogged traffic near the boardwalk along the Caspian Sea.