Tajik ruling party wins 71.7% of the vote

By Rukhshona Ibragimova
For CentralAsiaOnline.com
2010-03-01

Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon votes in parliamentary elections February 28. His People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan won 71.7% of the vote. Some opposition parties plan to challenge the results. [Rukhshona Ibragimova]

DUSHANBE – The ruling party won in Tajikistan, but opposition parties and western observers are questioning the conduct of the elections.

The People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan (NDPT), headed by President Emomali Rakhmon, received 71.7% of the vote in parliamentary elections February 28, according to preliminary results released March 1 by the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CEC).

The CEC said four other parties – including the Islamic Renaissance Party (PIVT), which received 7.7% of the votes – won seats. According to CEC director Mirzoali Boltuyev, other parties that exceeded the 5% vote requirement for seats in parliament include the Communist Party (7.22%), the Agrarian Party of Tajikistan (5.01%) and the Economic Reform Party (5.09%).

“The rest of the political parties -- the Social-Democrats (SDPT), the Democrats and the Socialists -- received less than 1% of the votes”, Boltuyev said.

The Sunday voting elected members of the lower house of parliament and holders of oblast, city, and other local offices. Preliminary results indicate an 87% turnout of about 3,154,000 voters.

Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon voted at a polling station 300m from the Presidential Palace and told journalists, “The elections are important for the Republic, and the more transparent, democratic and free they are, the higher the authority of the country in the international arena”.

While the president said the necessary conditions to achieve these goals were provided, opposition parties voiced their displeasure with the conduct of the elections and the results.

"There can be no talk of transparency”, declared Mukhiddin Kabiri, chairman of the PIVT. “According to our counts, we should have received a minimum of 35% of the vote throughout the republic. … Members of the electoral commissions, feeling their immunity, almost openly manipulated the voting results at every polling station”, Kabiri said.

“Our representatives at the commissions were provided with certified copies of the results by 10pm, and the following morning there were new results with completely different numbers”, he said.

Kabiri, though disputing the results, said this campaign was much more positive than in 2005. Violations were far greater that year, he said.

But SDPT Chairman Rahmatillo Zoyirov differed with Kabiri, telling Central Asia Online the government was more intrusive this year than in 2005.

“There was a lot of pressure especially on two opposition parties, us and the Islamic Party”, he said.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) expressed its own disappointment with the elections.

“It’s very regrettable that the government’s declared intention to follow democratic processes was not fulfilled by concrete measures to address significant shortcomings, which negatively influenced the pre-election campaign and election day”, said Artis Pabriks, head of the OSCE election assessment mission.

Operations at a quarter of the 3,067 voting stations were unsatisfactory, he said.

“The parliamentary elections in Tajikistan, while demonstrating some progress, still do not respond to the many key responsibilities the republic has before the OSCE”, said Pia Christmas-Moller, vice-president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE.

Christmas-Moller said state television practically ignored the pre-election campaign and thus hindered voters from making an informed choice at the polls. She also decried group and family voting, where one person votes for residents of a building or an extended family.

“Such serious violations weaken the authentic democratic process", she said. "Progress is still ahead, and I hope that the new parliament will solve this complicated problem”.

Salima Rasulova of Dushanbe told Central Asia Online she came to vote later than her parents did. “When I came up to members of the commission to receive my ballot, it turned out my father had voted for our entire family", she said. "The commission was unable to explain why this happened. After some discussion, it gave me a ballot”.

Deputy SDPT Chairman Shokipjon Khakimov said there were 5,000 fewer ballots than registered voters in the Kanibadamsk single-mandate district where he was a candidate.

“Many left without voting, and only by 7pm were these ballots found without explanation. But who will return to vote?”, he asked.

The CIS and Shanghai Co-operation Organisation observers gave high marks to the parliamentary elections.

“If there were isolated violations of the voting regime, in part attempts at family voting, they were not widespread and could not have altered the results of the election”, Sergei Lebedev, head of the CIS mission, said.

Shodi Shabdolov, head of the Communist Party, echoed that assessment, saying: “We did not find serious violations in the voting and overall are satisfied with today’s results”.

The opposition PIVT and SDPT plan to file a lawsuit to challenge the election outcome.

“If our claims and complaints are not examined and taken into consideration, we intend to take tougher measures within the law, including demonstrations”, Kabiri said.

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