Polls opened Sunday in Azerbaijan for a snap parliamentary election, the first since it regained full control of a former breakaway territory in a lightning offensive last year.
Previous elections since independence from the Soviet Union have not been regarded as fully free or fair, and the vote for the Milli Mejlis parliament is not expected to bring significant changes to the body dominated by President Ilham Aliyev 's New Azerbaijan party.
Aliyev’s father ruled Azerbaijan from 1993 until he died in 2003, then Ilham took over. Both have led the country with their heavy-handed rule, suppressing dissent as the country of almost 10 million people on the shores of the Caspian Sea basked in growing wealth from its huge oil and natural gas reserves.
The ruling party holds 69 of the 125 seats in the parliament, and most of the rest belong to small pro-government parties or independents. The Musavat party, the major opposition formation, put forth 34 candidates for Sunday’s election but only 25 of them were registered. The Republican Alternative opposition party will run 12 candidates.
Under the constitution, the election should have been held in November, but Aliyev decreed it to take place two months early as it coincided with the capital, Baku, hosting the United Nations climate talks, known as COP29.
The election comes just short of a year after Azerbaijani forces reclaimed in a military operation the Karabakh region, which since 1994 had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia, and forced out its self-declared government. Most of the region's 120,000 Armenian residents fled the region in the face of the offensive.
The national election commission says 50 organizations will conduct observer missions. The largest observer contingent, from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, is scheduled to present its preliminary assessment of the election on Monday.
Azerbaijan holds a parliamentary election expected to retain the presidential party's dominance
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Azerbaijan holds a parliamentary election expected to retain the presidential party's dominance
- The election comes just short of a year after Azerbaijani forces reclaimed in a military operation the Karabakh region
Protesters to rally in Milan denouncing impact of Winter Games
MILAN: Thousands of people were expected to march through Milan on Saturday in a protest over housing costs and urban affordability on the first full day of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics
The march, organized by grassroots unions, housing-rights groups and social center community activists, is set to highlight what activists call an increasingly unsustainable city model marked by soaring rents and deepening inequality.
The Olympics cap a decade in which Milan has seen a property boom following the 2015 World Expo, with locals squeezed by soaring living costs as Italy’s tax scheme for wealthy new residents, alongside Brexit, drew professionals to the financial capital.
According to police estimates, more than 3,000 people are expected to join the march.
It will set off at 3 p.m. (1400 GMT) from the Medaglie d’Oro central square and cover nearly four kilometers (2.5 miles) before ending in Milan’s south-eastern quadrant of Corvetto, a historically working-class district.
A rally last weekend by the hard-left in the city of Turin turned violent, with more than 100 police officers injured and nearly 30 protesters arrested, according to an interior ministry tally.
Saturday’s protest follows a series of actions in the run-up to the Games, including rallies on the eve of the opening ceremony that denounced the presence in Italy of US ICE agents and what activists describe as the social and economic burdens of the Olympic project.
Some groups argue that Olympics are a waste of money and resources while housing prices are unaffordable and public meeting places scarce.
The march is taking place under tight security as Milan hosts world leaders, athletes and thousands of visitors for the global sport event, including US Vice President JD Vance.
Political tensions surfaced at the opening ceremony on Friday night where Vance drew jeers in the packed San Siro stadium when an image of him waving the US flag appeared on a big screen.
