DUSHANBE, February 24, 2015, Asia-Plus — Some experts say the leader of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan (DPT), Saidjaffar Ismonov, who is running for election to the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower house of parliament) in the Farkhor constituency (Khatlon province), now has chance to win election as three candidates have withdrawn their candidacies.
“Candidate from the Agrarian Party (APT) Nouriddin Azamatov, candidate from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Safarali Sharifov and the self-propelled candidate Mavlonbi Tourayeva have withdrawn their candidacies,” an official source at the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER) told Asia-Plus in an interview.
Now, Saidjaffar Ismonov will compete for a seat in the Majlisi Namoyandagon with Zayniddin Yusufov, nominated by the Islamic Revival Party (IRP) and the self-propelled candidate Yusufkhon Sayfiddinov.
The Democratic Party of Tajikistan can trace its origins back to the last days of the Soviet Union. Registered on June 21, 1991 and banned by the Supreme Court on June 21, 1993, the Democratic Party of Tajikistan was reregistered on December 3, 1999.
At the end of 1990s, two factions laid claim to the Democratic Party of Tajikistan: the Almaty platform led by Mahmadruzi Iskandarov and the Tehran platform run by Azam Afzali. The Tehran platform later transformed itself into the Taraqqiyot (Progress) Party.
On October 5, 2005, the Supreme Court sentenced DPT leader Mahmadruzi Iskandarov to 23 years in prison. The sentence followed his conviction on charges of terrorism, the embezzlement of state funds, and the illegal storage of weapons, though his supporters say he was jailed for political motives.
The party split into two factions again and the Ministry of Justice recognized Masoud Sobirov as the legitimate leader of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan in October 2006.
Democrats in Sughd province and Gorno Badakhshan as well as some primary organizations of the party in other regions of the country did not recognize Masoud Sobirov as the party leader and they demanded convocation of the extraordinary congress of the party.
An extraordinary congress of the party took place in Dushanbe on December 23, 2012 and Saidjaffar Ismonov was elected as chairman of the party.
