BAKU, February 8. /TASS/. The February 7 early presidential election in Azerbaijan was competitive and contested, and incumbent President Ilham Aliyev secured his win as he enjoys undisputed authority among citizens, Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Sergey Lebedev told TASS.

"What matters most is that the election was contested and competitive. <…> Seven candidates [were vying for the post], all of them being decent people," said Lebedev, who headed a CIS election observation mission.

According to Lebedev, the authority of Aliyev who was running for his fifth consecutive term as president is undisputed. "That was a clear win and it was expected. No surprise here," he emphasized.