Riot police on alert in Azerbaijan

By Chloe Arnold BBC correspondent in Baku

Riot police are on high alert in the capital of Azerbaijan amid fears of further violent clashes following a controversial presidential election.

Angry scenes followed the election result

Ilham Aliyev, the son of the country's outgoing president, won a landslide victory on Wednesday, but opposition parties have refused to accept the result.

In the capital Baku, police clashed with several thousand opposition supporters, who accuse the government of rigging the election.

The atmosphere in central Baku was tense on Friday morning as hundreds of police in riot gear gathered near potential trouble spots following mass disturbances the day before.

Criminal proceedings

At least one man is reported to have died and a small boy is in a coma in the worst street fighting the country has seen since the collapse of Soviet Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan's pro-government parliament called an emergency session on Friday, voting to strip an opposition member, Igbal Agazade, of his seat.

Opposition parties do not accept the election result

Criminal proceedings are being brought against him after he was seen joining protesters.

Official election results have not yet been released, but the central election commission says Ilham Aliyev won almost 80% of the vote.

His nearest rival, Isa Gambar, trailed with just over 12%.

The head of an international observer mission gave a damning assessment of the election process, which he said fell well short of international standards.