DUSHANBE, August 11, 2008, Asia-Plus — On Monday August 11, the Democratic Party of Tajikistan (DPT) organized celebrations to mark the 18th anniversary of the foundation of the party.
A ceremonial meeting that was held on this occasion at the head office of the Mahmadruzi Iskandarov-run wing of the party brought together representatives of the party’s organizations in Dushanbe, Khatlon, Rasht and Khorog.
Mr. Alexander Kulikov, the First Secretary, the Russian Embassy in Dushanbe, as well representatives of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan came to congratulate Tajik Democrats.
The DPT organization for Sughd organized celebrations to mark the 18th anniversary of the foundation of the party in Khujand.
The Democratic Party of Tajikistan can trace its origins back to the last days of the Soviet Union. It was founded on August 10, 1990 and registered with the Ministry of Justice on June 21, 1991. The DPT was banned by the Supreme Court on June 21, 1993 and reregistered with the Ministry of Justice on December 3, 1999.
In the late 1990s, two factions laid claim to the Democratic Party of Tajikistan: the Almaty platform led by Mahmadruzi Iskandarov, which is registered in Tajikistan, and the Tehran platform, which was led by Azam Afzali and then transformed itself into the Taraqqiyot Party.
The Democratic Party split after Masoud Sobirov formed a separate faction in April 2006, which the Ministry of Justice recognized as the official Democratic Party in October 2006, and at present there are three DPT factions run by Masoud Sobirov, Mahmadruzi Iskandarov and Saidjaffar Ismonov.
The party congress held by Ismonov’s supporters on January 14, 2007, charged Masoud Sobirov with inaction and removed him. They elected Ismonov as leader of the party. But the Ministry of Justice noted that the January 14 congress was held in violation of the party”s charter and Tajik law and denied a request by Saidjaffar Ismonov to be recognized as the leader of the Democratic Party.
