Ilham Aliyev was elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan with 76.84 % of votes as the result of the presidential election of 2003.
Presidential election of October 15, 2003 was the fifth official election to the post of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Voter turnout was 71.5 % (3,046,401 citizens) in the democratic election. First Deputy Chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party, Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, was the candidate of the party. Ilham Aliyev was elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan by winning 2 438 787 votes, that is 76.84 % of votes of overall electorates in the free, fair and transparent election. Before this, President Ilham Aliyev had effectively worked as a member of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan (1st and 2nd gatherings), head of the standing Azerbaijani Parliamentary delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE), Deputy Chairman of the PACE and member of the PACE Bureau. Considering his services to the Azerbaijani people, Ilham Aliyev was appointed as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2003. Ilham Aliyev, who actively participates in the process of democratic, legal and secular state-building in Azerbaijan, is also a prominent party figure. He was elected Deputy Chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party at its 1st Congress in 1999 and First Deputy Chairman at its 2nd Congress in 2001. Overcoming those tasks decently, Ilham Aliyev managed to mobilize vast majority of population around building new Azerbaijan. Mr. Ilham Aliyev also led the election campaign of the New Azerbaijan Party during the parliamentary election of 2000. Under his leadership the NAP scored a brilliant victory at the election and won huge majority of seats at the Milli Majlis. All these successful activities became the most important factors that led to Mr. Ilham Aliyev’s victory during elections.