DUSHANBE, December 26, 2009, Asia-Plus — On Saturday December 26, the 10th congress of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDPT) determined candidates for election to the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) through a proportional, party list system from a single, countrywide constituency.
The PDPT has a party list of 22 candidates for the 2010 parliamentary elections and Amirsho Miraliyev, the head of President’s Executive Office, is at the top of the list.
Among those put on the party list are also Akbarsho Felaliyev, the member of the Majlisi Namoyandagon, Khairinisso Yusufi, the chairperson of the Committee for Women and Family Affairs, Said Yoqubzod, Minister of Land Reclamation and Water Resources, Jumaboy Sanginov, the member of the Majlisi Namoyandagon, and other candidates.
People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan was founded in 1993. PDPT is the biggest political party in the country, boasting some 125,000 registered members. Its chairman is President Emomali Rahmon. The party controls more than 80 percent of the seats in parliament.
The Majlisi Namoyandagon has 63 members, who are directly elected for a period of 5 years. 22 are elected through a proportional, party list system from a single, countrywide constituency. To win seats, parties must pass a five percent threshold. The remaining 41 members are elected from single-mandate constituencies under a majoritarian system. In the single mandate constituencies, candidates must win an absolute majority of votes to be elected. If none of the contestants manages to win an absolute majority during the first round, a second round of voting is held between the two leading candidates two weeks later. For any of the elections to be valid, there must be at least a 50% voter turnout.
We will recall that elections to the Majlisi Namoyandagon and local legislatures will take place on February 28, 2010
