Azerbaijan's ruling party set to retain parliamentary majority in snap election

A voter casts a ballot at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Baku, Azerbaijan September 1, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Karimov

BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's ruling party was set to retain its majority in Sunday's snap parliamentary election, election officials said, in the country's first vote since staging a lightning offensive a year ago to recapture the breakaway territory of Karabakh.

President Ilham Aliyev's party was on course to win 67 out of 125 seats in the parliament, based on 91% of the vote count, Central Election Commission chief Mazahir Panakhov said at a media conference.