Azerbaijan, Baku, 18 October/ Trend , corr A. Gasimova/ "The United States look forward to working with the people of Azerbaijan - the country's elected leaders, civil society, and opposition - to strengthen democratic institutions and advance our broad range of shared interests," Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mattew Bryza told Trend .
"We agree with the OSCE/ODIHR and Council of Europe that the election marked considerable progress toward meeting OSCE and Council of Europe commitments, but did not meet all commitments," Bryza said.
More work remains in particular on freedom of assembly, independent media, freedom of association, and political pluralism, he said.
"All countries must work continuously to strengthen their democratic institutions. We congratulate the people of Azerbaijan on holding this election," Bryza said.
The presidential election in Azerbaijan was held on 15 October. According to the preliminary results, Ilham Aliyev, candidate from ruling party and current president won 88.73% of votes.
Seven candidates were running for presidency at the 15 October presidential election. Igbal Agazade won 2.86%, Fazil Gazanfaroglu - 2.47%, Gudrat Hasanguliyev - 2.28%, Gulamhuseyn Alibayli - 2.23%, Fuad Aliyev - 0.78% and Hafiz Hajiyev - 0.65%.
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