Ilham Aliyev wins fifth consecutive term as President of Azerbaijan

(Patria) - President Ilham Aliyev, in the presidential elections, as expected, leads in exit polls after the closing of polling stations on Wednesday, having capitalized on voter sentiment following Baku's swift and decisive victory over Armenian separatists in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Aliyev would thus win a fifth consecutive term in snap elections that have been criticized as neither free nor fair, amid a crackdown on independent media and the absence of any real opposition, Western media report.

Opposition parties boycotted the elections.

An exit poll conducted by the US-based Oracle Advisory Group after polling stations closed showed Aliyev winning convincingly with 93.9 percent of the vote. Official results are expected on Thursday.

The presidential elections were not supposed to be held before 2025, but Aliyev, emboldened after Azerbaijan re-took Nagorno-Karabakh, announced early voting in December to capitalize on the battlefield victory.

"I don't think we will see a different Aliyev in the new term," Berit Lindeman, Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, told RSE's Azerbaijani Service.

"I think the reason the elections were organized now instead of next year is precisely because he wants to continue on the path he has already set. It is another step to consolidate his power and the way he is currently leading. I think he has gradually become more authoritarian," Lindeman said.

The 62-year-old Aliyev has remained in power through a series of elections marred by irregularities and accusations of fraud, while political activity and human rights have been suppressed under his authoritarian rule.

Farid Orujov, head of the election information center of the Central Election Commission Secretariat, said that by 5 PM local time (2 PM CET), 4,590,075 people had voted, which is 70.85 percent of registered voters.

Azertag, the official state news agency, reported that Aliyev is already receiving congratulations. Thus, Aliyev received congratulations from Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, as well as from the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik.