DUSHANBE, September 23, 2013, Asia-Plus – Tajik known lawyer and rights activist, Ms. Oynihol Bobonazarova, who is a candidate of the Tajik Association of Reformist Forces (TARF) for president, has called on incumbent President Emomali Rahmon to organize really democratic elections.
In a statement, released on September 23, Ms. Bobonazarova expresses concern about “mass and gross violation of electoral rights of citizens.”
She, in particular, notes that deterioration of pre-election situation in the country resulting from the gross violation of electoral rights of citizens evokes serious concern.
According to her, limitation of constitutional rights of some 1.5 million Tajik nationals working abroad, which is more than 35 percent of the total number of electoral voters in Tajikistan, has shown a sustainable trend.
“Under various farfetched pretexts, the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER) has ignored an appeal of the TARF to stop arbitrary rule and restore the violated constitutional rights of Tajik nationals working abroad,” the statement says.
Ms. Bobonazarova considers that polling stations set up abroad are not enough to ensure access of more than one million people to the voting process.
Besides, like the parliament, the CCER has refused the proposal to include representatives of political parties to the district election commissions (DECs) and the precinct election commissions (PECs) that would have allowed preventing falsification of the voting results, the statement noted.
The TARF single candidate for president also says that local authorities interfere with voting process.
Ms. Oynihol Bobonazarova calls on President Emomali Rahmon to ensure observance of laws and creation of all necessary conditions for organization and holding of really democratic elections in the country.
