By Chloe Arnold BBC Correspondent in Baku

As many as 10,000 people attended a rally in the capital of the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan calling for the president to resign.

Ordinary people, tired of their poor living conditions, joined opposition parties on Saturday's march.

Hundreds of flags and homemade banners flapped in the afternoon sunshine as the crowd made its way to Victory Square.

Thousands of protesters joined the march

As they marched, they chanted 'istafa!' or 'resign!' - a message to the 79-year-old president, Heydar Aliyev.

The demonstration passed off peacefully, although there were a few minor scuffles as police tried to remove demonstrators from the rooftops of apartment buildings lining the route of the march.

It is the second mass rally to be held in Azerbaijan since the nation went to the polls at the end of August in a controversial referendum.

Referendum denounced

Opposition parties on Saturday also called for the results of the referendum on changes to the country's constitution to be annulled.

They said their observers saw numerous violations on polling day and that the results were widely falsified.

Opposition groups boycotted the referendum, which they said would alter the constitution to make it easier for the ailing president to transfer power to his son.

Protestors waved flags and homemade banners

The government however denied any foul play, saying the previous constitution brought in after the collapse of the Soviet Union needed to be brought in line with other democracies.

Opposition groups say they will continue to stage mass demonstrations in the capital until President Aliyev steps down.

Mr Aliyev, a former KGB official and a Soviet-era Communist Party boss in Azerbaijan, has ruled the oil-rich Caspian Sea nation with an iron hand for most of the past decade and has twice won elections criticised as fraudulent.