DUSHANBE, October 16, 2013, Asia-Plus — Presidential candidates are beginning pre-election meetings with voters today.
“Presidential candidates have the right to hold pre-elections meetings with voters until November 1,” Abdumannon Dodoyev, the head of the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER)’s office, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
Today, presidential candidates are scheduled to hold meetings with voters in Dushanbe’s Ismoili Somoni and Shohmansour districts. The meeting with voters from the Ismoili Somoni district is being held at the Business Center “Poytakht” and the meeting with voters from the Shohmansour district is being held at the building of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Tajikistan. CCER head Shermuhammad Shohiyon is expected to attend these meetings.
“By CCER’s decision such meetings will be arranged in all districts of the country and it is prohibited to hold these meetings at local authorities buildings,” Dodoyev noted.
Six presidential candidates have officially registered for the election. In addition to the incumbent President Emomali Rahmon, they are Tolibbek Bukhoriyev from the Agrarian Party; Olim Boboyev from the Party of Economic Reforms; Ismoil Talbakov from the Communist Party; Abduhalim Ghafforov from the Socialist Party; and Saidjaffar Ismonov from the Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, the Tajik Association of Reformist Forces (TARF) is demanding that election authorities register Ms. Oynihol Bobonazarova, despite the fact she fell short of the necessary signatures required.
