Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev appears to have taken a lesson from Alice in Wonderland’s Red Queen: “Sentence first—verdict afterwards.” However, Aliyev has modified it to “victory first, votes second.” The authoritarian regime was slightly embarrassed when the state media released the results of the election showing Aliyev winning with 72.76 percent of the vote. The problem is that the polls had not opened yet.
Ilham Aliyev is the son of Heydar Aliyev, who was Azerbaijan’s president from 1993-2003.
The election authorities released the vote a full day before actual voting. The vote tally was notably close to his vote in 2003 of 76.84. The regime appears to have decided to let him slip a little in popularity but it was still higher than the 87 percent in 2008.
The loser was opposition candidate Jamil Hasanli with 7.4 percent of the vote. Hasanli had complained about being denied air time on state television, but that proved to be harmless since Aliyev decided to do away with the necessity of voting as a condition for office.
Officials quickly recalled the figures and insisted that it was merely a computer glitch.
They are now tallying the vote and . . . hold on to your hat . . . Aliyev is winning handily by 85 percent of the vote.
Source: Washington Post
brandon johnson – “Be the change, sir!” You want a better school, bank, supermarket, hospital…? Go out and build one! Another thing, don’t let cynicism blind you, it is love in your heart that will open doors to making a world you will be happy to leave behind for your children. Start believing in a world with leaders with integrity, who act in honesty and transparency, clean air food and water for everyone, and it WILL begin to take shape, take form and become manifest. You could say Faith is the opposite of cynicism, the world you desire is shadowy and formless now, you are the catalyst that creates…
Karl Rove running elections there as well….
Obama shared his election secrets!
Okay. So let’s say our elections are rigged. What recourse do the American people have at that point? Should we… write to our Congressman? Useless, right? Should we… peacefully protest? Peacefully protest the greedy octopus that has its tentacles around every part of our government? The same beast that will murder, bribe, swindle, sacrifice it’s own young men and women for money and power… the entity that turns the very people who prop it up against one other just so that it can remain in power? What is the next logical action for the people to take against such a cunning and vile force? Should we wait until there are death camps… wait until we hear the train whistle? Or are we certain that these un-elected usurpers have our best interests in mind… that they will deal kindly with our children when THEY raise their voices in protest?
Mr. Turley,
Will you please write an article I don’t 100% agree with? I need a reality check. (God bless you for the courage and intellect you display)
John Boanerges pain in the ass Redman
Paul, that’s an interesting take on it.
******
Aliyev was having a Karl Rove moment:
http://www.theprogressiveunion.com/did-anonymous-save-democracy-on-election-night/
The illusion of anything is not democracy.
What Gene said!
It reminds me of some of the talk about “government” and of a “shutdown” … and the definition of government:
And the efficiency of having an election without an election is so “Voters decide nothing, vote counters decide everything.” – Joseph Stalin
Gene H.
Shades of Bush v. Gore.
The illusion of democracy is not democracy.
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Truth!
What else would you expect from a country the US calls an “ally in the war on terror”?
And you all thought Psycho-history was a pipe dream.
Perhaps someone at the state media did this on purpose to show the fallacy of the voting? And if so, is this person still alive?
Shades of Bush v. Gore.
The illusion of democracy is not democracy.
What wonderful voting machines they have, now no one has to bother going out to vote. Soon coming to a country near you.