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Azeris pave way for president-for-life

By Isabel Gorst in Moscow

Published: March 19 2009 15:39

The opposition in oil-rich Azerbaijan on Thursday vowed to overturn a
referendum that paves the way for Ilham Aliyev to become
president-for-life .

The Azerbaijani central election commission said voters in the
ex-Soviet state had approved constitutional amendments lifting a
two-term limit on the presidency after a referendum on Wednesday.

The opposition said the referendum was illegal and had been unfairly
conducted.

Mazakhir Panakhov, chairman of the central election commission, said
92 per cent of voters had approved the abolition of current limits
preventing presidents from holding more than two consecutive terms in
office.

Other proposed constitutional changes, including a ban on presidential
and parliamentary elections in war time and rules governing benefits
for retired presidents, also won overwhelming voter support.

Mr Aliyev, the son of Heydar Aliyev, the former president who died in
2003, won a second term in office at an election last October that was
boycotted by leading opposition parties.

Mr Aliyev’s rule has coincided with a spectacular economic boom in
Azerbaijan where foreign companies are tapping huge oil and gas
reserves in the Caspian Sea. Political analysts said Azerbaijan had
rushed through the referendum in anticipation of a surge in social
discontent in the coming months as the economy contracts. Gross
Domestic Product growth in Azerbaijan reached a record 25 per cent in
2007 but sank to 11 per cent last year as world oil prices fell and is
expected to drop more sharply this year.

Opposition leaders have accused western governments of turning a blind
eye to Azerbaijan’s political shortcomings in the interests of energy
security. The country hosts pipelines carrying Caspian exports across
the Caucasus to Europe that provide the west with a crucial source of
non-Russian, non Opec oil.

Changes to the constitution proposed by Yeni Azerbaijan, the ruling
party, were approved by the constitutional court in December in a
ruling the opposition claimed was illegal.

Azerbaijan’s leading opposition parties said turnout at the referendum
had fallen below the 25 per cent threshold required to validate the
referendum.

Ali Keramli, the head of the Peoples Front party, said, `The
referendum did not reflect the will of the people because the people
did not vote.’

Isa Gambar, the president of the Musavat party, said the observers
deployed at polling stations had noted `colossal violations of
electoral laws’. `As always the authorities falsified the results of
the vote,’ he said.

Mr Gambar said the opposition planned legal action to contest the
referendum result, but has not yet decided whether to stage street
protests.

However, opposition leaders added that political apathy would prevent
unrest in Azerbaijan. Many Azerbaijanis are afraid to protest
remembering the violent police crackdown on demonstrations that
erupted after a disputed presidential election in 2003 brought Mr
Aliyev to power.