Reaction as Azeri ruling party set to win vote

Описание: (8 Nov 2010) SHOTLIST
1. Wide top shot of Baku
2. Wide of Baku street
3. People walking on street
4. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Aida Mekhizade, Election Observer:
"I was an independent observer at the elections and had the possibility to witness the process of voting. I think that everything proceeded fairly. Lots of people were coming voluntarily and the voting was very active. I think that the candidates who won deserved the number of votes they received."
5. Wide of people on street
6. Newspaper kiosk
7. Man reading newspaper
8. Close of newspaper front page with photos of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev voting
9. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Samer Mamedov, Baku Resident:
" The passivity from other parties has influenced the results of the parliamentary elections. My opinion is that they (opposition parties) have to be more energetic."
10. People on street
11. Wide top show of Baku
STORYLINE
Azerbaijan's ruling party looks set to win parliamentary elections in the energy-rich nation, its top election official indicated on Monday, a result that would maintain President Ilham Aliyev's firm hold over the country.
With over 90 percent of votes preliminarily counted, Sunday's vote in this former Soviet republic on the Caspian Sea appears to mark an expected victory for Aliyev, who has ruled Azerbaijan since 2003.
The country's Central Elections Commission head, Mazahir Panahov, said in a televised news conference early Monday that about 70 seats in the 125-seat
legislature went to representatives of Aliyev's Yeni Azerbaijan party.
Opponents of Aliyev have already cried foul, saying they were denied a fair shot in the vote. Aliyev is often criticised by rights groups for heavy-handed treatment of independent media and opposition groups.
The opposition bloc Musavat had been expected to compete, but its leader Isa Qambar told The Associated Press that none of its candidates had won seats.
Qambar had earlier said the group's chances were high, but at the same time said the results would depend on the will of the presidential administration rather than popular opinion.
Just over 50 percent of the 4.95 (m) million eligible voters took part in Sunday's election.
Aida Mekhizade, a Baku resident who described herself as an "independent election observer" said on Monday that she believed the vote "proceeded fairly."
"Lots of people were coming voluntarily and the voting was very active. I think that the candidates who won deserved the number of votes they received," she added.
Samer Mamedov, another Baku resident, blamed the result on political apathy and a weak opposition.
"The passivity from other parties has influenced the results of the parliamentary elections. My opinion is that they (opposition parties) have to be more energetic," he said.
Qambar earlier said the opposition would consider calling a protest rally for Tuesday, but few expect a repeat of the mass protests that followed the last parliamentary elections five years ago and what appeared to be widespread fraud.
Recent opposition rallies have drawn only several dozen activists, and the election campaign was far quieter than those of past years.
This has been attributed in part to rising living standards in Azerbaijan, a major exporter of oil and gas.
Azerbaijan's oil fields and its location straddling a corridor for westward oil and gas exports from Central Asia - bypassing its neighbours Russia and Iran - have made it a focus in the struggle between Moscow and the West for regional influence.

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