A man walks past a board plastered with campaign posters of presidential contenders in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, on October 7, 2013.
Voting has begun for Azerbaijan™s presidential election that appears almost certain to see incumbent President Ilham Aliyev win a third term.
The election started at 0800 local time (0300GMT) on Wednesday.
Some five million people in the oil-rich Caspian Sea nation are eligible to vote.
Aliyev came to power ten years ago after the death of his father, Heydar, who had ruled Azerbaijan for ten years.
The 51-year-old President was re-elected in 2008 election, receiving 89 percent of the votes. Recent opinion polls have also given Aliyev 80 percent of the votes.
Nine other candidates are also participating in the Ex-Soviet country™s presidential election.
Jamil Hasanli, historian and former MP, is considered as the main competitor to Aliyev. He represents the National Council opposition bloc in the election and has reportedly attracted thousands of supporters.
Hasanli has pledged to leave office after two years if elected and switch the country to a parliamentary system.
The 61-year-old historian accuses Aliyev of massive corruption, saying only vote-rigging will keep him in power for the third straight term.
“If the elections were free, democratic and honest then I have no doubt that I would win,” Hasanli said.
The Azeri President changed the constitution in a referendum in 2009, through which term limits for presidents were abolished and he could rule for life.
Human rights groups have accused the Azeri authorities of clampdown on oppositions before the election such as imprisoning scores of critics.
“It™s hard to keep up with the sheer number and the speed at which dissenters are being persecuted at the moment,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International™s Europe and Central Asia Director, on Tuesday.
Polls will close at 1900 local time (1400 GMT) and first official preliminary results are expected hours after polls closing.
SAB/PR
Copyright: Press TV