The ruling party of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is set to retain its majority in parliament after preliminary election results were released on September 2. Aliyev’s New Azerbaijan party won 68 seats of the 125 seats in the parliament, the Central Electoral Commission announced. It had 69 seats in the outgoing parliament. Other seats went to parties that back the government. Just over 2 million people voted in the September 1 elections, putting turnout at 37.3 percent. Instances of vote tampering were reported. It was the second snap election since Azerbaijan staged a lightning offensive a year ago to recapture the breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. To read the original report by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, click here.
Azerbaijan's Ruling Party Dominates Parliamentary Polls, As Expected
Ballots being counted after Azerbaijan's parliamentary elections on September 1.