[1] Freedom of assembly was restricted, preventing opposition parties from holding rallies.

[1] In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Aliyev regime had engaged in electoral fraud.

[3] Human Rights Watch expressed concern about widespread intimidation of opposition supporters, saying that the elections could not be free or fair under such conditions.

[5] ARTICLE 19 said Azerbaijani authorities were responsible for the violent harassment of journalists covering opposition rallies, frequent attacks and forced closure of independent media outlets, and widespread abuse of state and local resources in favour of pro-government candidates.

"[7] However, observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States claimed the irregularities "were not of mass character and did not have [an] impact on the free expression of voters' will".