2013 Azerbaijani presidential election

2013 Azerbaijani presidential election

← 2008 9 October 2013 (2013-10-09) 2018 →
Turnout	71.62%
Nominee Ilham Aliyev Jamil Hasanli Party New Azerbaijan NCDF Popular vote 3,126,113 204,642 Percentage 84.54% 5.53%
Results by constituency   Ilham Aliyev
President before election Ilham Aliyev New Azerbaijan Elected President Ilham Aliyev New Azerbaijan

Presidential elections were held in Azerbaijan on 9 October 2013.^[1] The result was a victory for incumbent President Ilham Aliyev, who received a reported 85% of the vote, whilst leading opposition candidate Jamil Hasanli finished second with a reported 6% of the vote.

The elections were marred by claims of irregularities; official results were accidentally released by the government's Central Election Commission through a mobile app before voting began, giving incumbent Aliyev a victory with 73% of the vote.^[2] The commission later recalled the results, claiming that they were taken from the 2008 elections.^[2] The claim was disputed, given that the results accidentally released included the candidates from the 2013 elections,^[2] and that the percentages differed from the 2008 results.

Opposition candidates were imprisoned and repressed in the lead-up to the elections, which led the European Court of Human Rights to issue a judgment against the Aliyev regime.^[3][4][5] The Aliyev regime put up numerous non-genuine candidates to confuse voters and dilute support for opposition candidates.^[4] Freedom of speech was restricted prior to the elections.^[4] OSCE monitors reported candidate and voter intimidation and a restrictive media environment, including arrests and the use of force against journalists and activists. 92% of the coverage on the six main TV channels were dedicated to the incumbent president.^[6]