Voting Day – It’s peaceful

A little catch up while more is yet to come. Katy sends in a text: “It’s peaceful down here”. She is heading to a friend’s place where she’ll post her updates. Marianna and her will update the azerbaijan.neweurasia.net blog over the next hours (This entry is cross-posted there, too). At 7 pm Azeri time, we should have the first exit polls.

Omnik, a couple of hours ahead in Yerevan, has already put up a comprehensive update of the situation unfolding in Baku.

This post will carry results of another opinion poll further below.

While it’s around 4 o’clock in the afternoon in Azerbaijan, and the polling stations remain opened until 7 pm, there are already some newsworthy tidbits:

The opposition already clamours that there were widespread violations, reports Mosnews.

“We have reports about massive violations of the election procedures. We’ll be gathering information until 8 p.m., and organize a rally the day after tomorrow. Our slogans will depend on how the polls will proceed. If massive rigging is reported we’ll insist that the election returns be annulled,” Kerimli was quoted by Interfax as saying after he cast his ballot in Baku.

Not surprising according to government analyst Fuad Akhundov:

Fuad Akhundov, chief of the Political Research Sector of the presidential administration’s Political Department said Kerimli’s statements were not surprising. “He is copying the revolution techniques developed abroad and intended for countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and is accusing the authorities of violating the election procedures in an attempt to provoke demonstrations,” Akhundov said.

Also, RFE/RL carries a story that there seem to have been problems with the indelible ink and ballot box stuffing, all quite familiar to us from previous CIS elections.

Turnout is apparently quite low, reports RiaNovosti. However, the election result will be valid regardless of what turnout there will be.

Now, as promised, the Intermedia opinion poll results. The interviews took place right until the end of October, so they should give a relatively clear impression of what we can expect as an outcome of today’s voting:

• The poll confirms the IRI findings: Azeris exhibit an increasingly optimistic mood. In 2005, 62% of the interviewed people responded that they view the next 12 months for Azerbaijan with hope, in 2002, this number only amounted to 50%
• More than 50% think that today’s elections will be fair
• Yeni Azerbaijan, President Aliyev’s party, would win 47% of the votes. Maybe this has exit-poll character, we’ll see
• Azadlyq would come in second with 13%
• The support for Yeni Azerbaijan seems to have been growing since the year 2000
• Ilham Aliyev is the most trusted politician in the country: 60% of those interviewed see themselves closest to him. Only 3% would name opposition leader Isa Gambar

Update:
Azertag (official) has a whole bunch of stories covering today’s elections, mostly quoting foreign observers who are praising the fairness and smoothness of the poll. There is also an interview with President Aliyev here.

Update 2
azerbaijan.neweurasia.net blogs the elections in great detail.