Lithuanian Journalists Sting Azerbaijan's Vote-Buying Network

MAY 15 2013 · 12:00

15min.lt investigation · "N/A" · Azerbaijan · 2013 Language: N/A · Venue: Malmö Arena · Host: Malmö, Sweden · Type: scandal · Broadcast: streaming era Lithuanian news outlet 15min.lt runs a covert sting during Eurovision week 2013. Reporters contact Azerbaijani Eurovision organizers offering to sell bulk SIM cards used for televoting. The Azerbaijani contact — identifying himself as 'Sergei' — offers 'millions for victory', proposing a mass SIM-card purchase scheme to boost Azerbaijan's televote. The story breaks during the week. Azerbaijan subsequently gives Russia 0 points in the final — the normally reliable ally relationship broken. Putin reportedly calls Aliyev the following day. Context Azerbaijan had been accused of vote-buying in prior years but never with this level of documentation. The EBU investigation confirmed irregularities but stopped short of disqualification. The Azerbaijan-Russia 0-point result was read as fallout from the exposed scheme rather than independent strategic voting. Legacy Televoting rules were tightened afterward — introduction of regional SIM limits, anomaly detection, and eventually the split jury-televote presentation in 2016. Azerbaijani juries would be caught in further voting collusion scandals in 2022. The 2013 sting remains the most thoroughly documented Eurovision vote-manipulation case.