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Ruling Party in Azerbaijan Claims Vote Lead

The ruling party of President Ilham Aliyev appeared to be leading in parliamentary elections here, according to early returns. But the vote was condemned as fraudulent by the leading opposition group, which said its supporters would take to the streets to protest. Western nations, including the United States, had called for a fair ballot in this strategically important and energy-rich country on the Caspian Sea.

Opposition leaders and an election-monitoring group underwritten by international grants cited violations, including ballot-box stuffing and instances of people casting ballots that had been marked before the voters reached polling booths. Hundreds of international election monitors spread across Azerbaijan to observe the voting. Their judgment on the ballot`s fairness, which is expected to be announced Monday afternoon, could have a significant impact on the opposition`s next steps as well as how the results are received by foreign governments.

The Interior Ministry warned Sunday that it would break up any illegal demonstrations. The opposition nonetheless said it was planning to hold a rally in central Baku and in other cities on Tuesday. The opposition said it would pay close attention to a report on the election from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.