Baku: Azeris in poll stations to elect new president

Eighty-year-old President Heidar Aliyev, spending the last days of his rule in a US clinic with a severe heart condition, has declared his son Ilham as his heir apparent.
Meanwhile, opposition challengers and some foreign observers have warned of large-scale ballot-rigging and intimidation of voters, while the opposition has hinted at violent protests if Aliyev junior is declared the winner.
According to Azerbaijan’s election law, the winner of Wednesday’s vote will be the candidate who gets 50 percent or more of the votes cast. If no candidate does this, a second round run-off will be scheduled.
Azerbaijan has 4.1 million registered voters out of a population of about eight million. The country’s 5,146 polling stations are scheduled to remain open until 7:00 PM (1400 GMT).