DUSHANBE, September 2, 2009, Asia-Plus — International organizations and diplomatic missions active in Tajikistan do not pay a proper attention to the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country due in February 2010, Muhibullo Dodojonov, an official with the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER), said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
“To hold the previous parliamentary elections in Tajikistan (February 2005) international organizations and diplomatic missions implemented more than 150 projects,” said Dodojonov, “Those projects mainly concerned instruction of voters in principles of the election legislation, production of TV announcements, correct and competent agitation materials.”
“We suppose that the global financial crisis that affected activities of these organizations is to blame for such a situation,” the CCER official noted.
We will recall that Dodojonov warned in March this year that the CCER needs far more cash than has been pledged in order to effectively supervise next year”s parliamentary elections. He noted that at least 5 million somoni is needed for the commission to conduct its work in relation to the process, while the government has said it will provide 3 million somoni. Dodojonov added that funds will be needed to pay the salaries of local election-commission members.
