A presidential election was held in Azerbaijan on October 15 2003. As expected, Ilham Aliyev, son of the outgoing president, Heydar Aliyev, was easily elected in an election which international observers held not to be free or fair.

Parties

National summary

Candidate                         Party          Votes          %
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Ilham Aliyev                      YAP            2,438,787      80.0
Hafiz Haciyev                     MMP                9,990      00.3  
Lalä Sovket Haciyev               MB               100,558      03.3
Qudrat Hasanquliyev               AXCP              13,624      00.4  
Ilyas Ismayilov                   AP                24,926      00.8  
Ehtibar Mammadov                  AMIP              62,401      02.0  
Isa Qambar                        MP               372,385      12.2  
Sabir Rustamxanli                 VHP               23,730      00.8  
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Total                                            3,046,401
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Human Rights Watch commented on these elections:

"Human Rights Watch research found that the government has heavily intervened in the campaigning process in favor of Prime Minister Ilham Aliev, son of current President Heidar Aliev. The government has stacked the Central Election Commission and local election commission with its supporters, and banned local non-governmental organizations from monitoring the vote. As the elections draw nearer, government officials have openly sided with the campaign of Ilham Aliev, constantly obstructing opposition rallies and attempting to limit public participation in opposition events. In some cases, local officials have closed all the roads into town during opposition rallies, or have extended working and school hours - on one occasion, even declaring a Sunday work day - to prevent participation in opposition rallies."