KHUJAND, October 14, 2009, Asia-Plus — On Wednesday October 14, representatives of political parties and public associations functioning in the Sughd province gathered in Khujand to discuss ways how to make the parliamentary elections due in February 2010 more democratic.
The meeting brought together senior representatives from local authorities and 50 representatives from organizations of political parties in the province and public associations functioning here. Mr. Frank Johansen, Political Officer, OSCE Office in Tajikistan, also attended the meeting.
Issues related to a role of political parties in the parliamentary elections and improvement of election mechanisms were among major topics of the meeting.
Ghufron Rustamov, the head of the organization of the Communist Party (CPT) for Sughd, noted that candidates of political parties should seriously prepare themselves for work with parliament.
The deputy head of the Islamic Revival Party (IRPT) for Sughd Mirzoqul Hojimatov raised the issue of criticism and perception of it. “If we criticize something, it does not mean that we are enemies of people,” said Hojimatov, “We just want our country and our people to live better.”
The chairperson of the organization of the Social-Democratic Party (SDPT), Ms. Dilbar Samadova, noted that during the previous parliamentary elections their party had had problems with access to the final protocol of the elections. “At some polling stations, we had been feeling pressure of administrative levers,” Ms. Samadova said, noting all political parties should have equal access to media, including the state-run ones.
