Azerbaijan to hold early presidential elections – EPP National Council not allowed to enter Lufthansa ground crew in Germany are on strike – many flights canceled

In the authoritarian, oil-rich republic of Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus, people voted in early presidential elections under the impression that they would retake the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. It was thought certain that 62-year-old ruler Ilham Aliyev, who took over from his father in the Caspian Sea country in 2003, would be declared the winner again after Wednesday’s vote. Human rights activists complained about attempts at manipulation and repression. According to observers, Aliyev’s six opponents are not real rivals. The two largest opposition parties are boycotting the elections, which are being criticized as unfair.

Human rights activists also criticize a recent wave of arrests in the Caspian Sea country, which has become a major gas and oil supplier to the EU, especially since the start of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. Azerbaijan is also hosting the global climate conference COP29 this year.

The more than 6,500 polling stations in Azerbaijan were open from 8 a.m. (5 a.m. CET) to 7 p.m. (4 p.m. CET). More than six million people were called to vote. In the center of the capital Baku, there were sometimes long lines at the polling stations in sunny winter weather. However, critical observers point out that public sector workers in particular are often pressured to go to the polls to ensure high turnout. Passers-by in the city often say that they see no point in casting their vote.

Swiss election observers are still not allowed to go to Azerbaijan

Election observer and national councilor Nik Gugger (EPP/HH) is still not allowed to enter Azerbaijan for the elections. The ambassador of the Caucasus country in Switzerland was unable to arrange entry for himGugger said when asked on Wednesday.

Gugger was therefore unable to enter the Azerbaijani capital Baku on Wednesday. Gugger told the Keystone-SDA news agency that his offer to report on Friday on the evaluation of the election results still stands.

Gugger traveled to Azerbaijan this weekend as an official and accredited election observer for the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) and was assigned to report on the early presidential elections that took place on Wednesday. Polling stations are expected to close at 4pm (CET) on Wednesday.

As soon as Gugger landed in the capital Baku, he was stopped by police at the diplomatic entrance. They confiscated his passport and refused him entry. Other OSCE observers were allowed through without any problems, including the Swiss delegation.

Police held the national councilor at Baku airport for almost three hours before putting him on a plane to Istanbul. Only in Turkey did he get his passport back. He returned to Switzerland last Saturday.

The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (EDA) summoned the Azerbaijani ambassador to Bern last Monday over the issue. On this occasion, the FDFA expressed Switzerland’s displeasure at the unacceptable treatment of Guggerthe department said.

Last Sunday, Gugger assumed it all had to do with his work as the Council of Europe, as he said when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency. This was confirmed on Monday in a conversation with the Azerbaijani ambassador.

Elections also took place in Nagorno-Karabakh

Residents of the Karabakh conflict zone, which Azerbaijan retook in 2020 and 2023, were also called on to vote. According to the media, Aliyev himself also cast his vote at a polling station in the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh.which was called Stepanakert by the former Armenian inhabitants and is now called Khankendi in Azerbaijani.

Officially, Aliyev explained the early presidential elections by saying that Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity had been restored and that the head of state now needed new legitimacy. Political observers, however, are inclined to assume that the authoritarian president, with the victory in Karabakh behind him, now wants to quickly secure his power. before dissatisfaction in society about problems such as great social inequality and rampant corruption continues to grow.

Azerbaijan completely captured Nagorno-Karabakh last fall. Although the region is within Azerbaijani territory, until then it was mainly inhabited by ethnic Armenians. For decades, Karabakh was a battle between the two neighboring ex-Soviet republics. More than 100,000 Karabakh Armenians fled as a result of the Azerbaijani army’s attacks. Armenia accused Azerbaijan of expulsion and “ethnic cleansing”. (rbu/sda/dpa)