Azerbaijan's president Ilham Aliev pledged that Sunday's parliamentary elections would be followed by further democratization of the oil-rich republic. The election pits Aliev's New Azerbaijan Party against the Azadliq (Freedom) coalition, the New Policy bloc of technocrats, and an array of smaller parties and independent candidates. Some 1,541 candidates are vying for places in the 125-seat parliament, or Milli Majlis, which will sit for five years. Aliev said the campaign had been fair and that "the process of democratization would continue after these elections." Minutes before, he had cast his ballot at a central Baku school, where a huge portrait hung of his late father and presidential predecessor, Geidar Aliev. "Equal conditions were provided for all the candidates and, in general, the whole election process was smooth and peaceful," he said. "After the election, Azerbaijan will continue to develop in various directions _ developing a strong economy." But Ali Kerimli, one of the three main opposition leaders, said his Popular Front of Azerbaijan had recorded "numerous violations." He said that if the violations were "massive," the opposition would consider calling for the results to be annulled, according to a report of The Associated Press.
