Azerbaijanis voted on Wednesday in a snap presidential election boycotted by the main opposition parties and set to extend the autocratic rule of President Ilham Aliyev. Polls opened at 0400 GMT in the energy-rich ex-Soviet Caspian state where the downtrodden opposition has been unable to mount a serious challenge to Aliyev. Opposition parties in the tightly-controlled Caucasus nation say the conditions to hold a democratic election are not in place and accused authorities of preparing to rig the vote. These elections will be no exception,” said the executive secretary of the opposition Republican Alternative Movement, Natig Jafarli. The authorities rejected the opposition’s criticism, insisting the vote will be free and fair.

Source: Egypt Independent April 11, 2018 07:07 UTC