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BAKU, October 16, 2008 (AFP) - Western observers said Thursday that Azerbaijan's presidential election fell short of democratic standards, after the opposition rejected incumbent Ilham Aliyev's victory with nearly 90 percent of the vote.

"Yesterday's presidential election in Azerbaijan marked considerable progress but did not meet all of the country's international commitments," the Organization for Co-operation and Security in Europe said in a statement.

The poll in the oil-rich former Soviet republic "was characterised by a lack of robust competition and vibrant political discourse... That did not reflect all the principles of a meaningful, pluralistic, democratic election.

"Regrettably some opposition parties boycotted the election citing long-standing obstacles, which further limited the scope for meaningful choice for the electorate."

Almost 400 OSCE observers monitored the election, which was boycotted by the opposition, who accuse the authorities of persecuting Aliyev's opponents, muzzling the media and fixing previous polls.

"We do not accept these elections or this government as legitimate," Ali Keremli, the leader of the Popular Front party, told journalists previously in the capital Baku.

"We, the real democratic forces of Azerbaijan, must unite and act together. We will discuss a plan of action," he said.

Aliyev, 46, swept to victory in the election, maintaining his grip on power after first succeeding his father as president five years ago.

With almost 97 percent of votes counted on Thursday, Aliyev had a huge lead with 88.64 percent of the vote, the elections commission said.

Six other candidates -- all loyal to the authorities -- lagged far behind, with second-placed Iqbal Agazade getting just 2.78 percent of the vote.

Opposition leaders said they had requested permission to hold a rally on Saturday, but were refused authorisation by the authorities.

"Nothing unexpected happened, everybody knew who was going to win the election," said Isa Gambar, the head of the Musavat party.

"In this situation the real opposition of Azerbaijan, real democratic forces that boycotted the election, are the winners. But we would like much more for the Azerbaijani people to win."

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was quick to congratulate Aliyev in a telephone call on his re-election in Azerbaijan, where Moscow is seeking to increase its influence.

"Medvedev expressed his heartfelt congratulations to Aliyev for his comfortable re-election to the post of president of the Republic of Azerbaijan and wished him success," the Kremlin said in a statement.

"The heads of state noted a mutual interest in further developing multi-faceted cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan," the Kremlin said. Azerbaijan is an energy-rich state on the Caspian Sea that is being wooed by both Russia and the United States. The country has been ruled by the Aliyev family for more than 30 years.

It is the starting point of a strategic energy corridor pumping oil and gas to Europe from the Caspian region without going through Russia, and it is also a neighbour of Georgia, where Russia fought a brief war in August.

Aliyev was first elected in 2003 to succeed his father, Heydar Aliyev, who died the same year.

His rule has benefitted from soaring oil revenues that have seen Azerbaijan's corruption-riddled economy among the fastest-growing in the world.

Aliyev will now have five more years to navigate the increasingly choppy waters between Russia and the United States as they vie for the allegiance of the mainly Muslim state of about eight million people.

Since coming to power, Aliyev has walked a tightrope between Moscow and Washington as the two court Baku for access to the vast energy resources of the Caspian.

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