Azerbaijan’s constitutional court declares Ilham Aliyev president

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Azerbaijan’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday declared that President Ilham Aliyev was re-elected the country’s president after securing 92.12% of the vote in snap polls held last week.

The court said in a statement that a meeting of its plenum was held in Baku under the chairmanship of Farhad Abdullayev, the head of the Constitutional Court, during which it considered materials received from the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC) regarding the results of the election.

The statement further said that the court listened to reports and statements from judges, legal representatives and experts, after which it reviewed the materials and made a decision to confirm and officially announce the results of the election.

“According to the decision of the Constitutional Court, according to the final protocol of the CEC, Ilham Aliyev won the presidential elections with 92.12 percent of votes,” the statement said, adding that Abdullayev read the decision to the court.

Aliyev, who has been Azerbaijan's president since 2003, was re-elected for a fifth term in office after winning 92.12% of vote during an early presidential election held on Feb 7.