DUSHANBE, March 1, 2010, Asia-Plus – Polls have closed in Tajikistan”s parliamentary and local elections with opposition politicians in Tajikistan claiming that the vote was deeply flawed, Radio Liberty reported on February 28.
Observers say they expect authoritarian President Emomali Rahmon”s People”s Democratic Party to maintain tight control of the lower house of parliament — the Majlis Namoyandagon — once the results are finalized. The party held more than 50 of the 63 seats in the outgoing parliament.
With two hours of voting remaining, Tajikistan”s Central Election Commission said 80 percent of the country”s 3.5 million voters cast ballots. The commission did not release revised figures immediately after polls closed.
Opposition figures, meanwhile, complained about fraud and a lack of transparency in the vote. Rahmatillo Zoirov, the head of opposition Social-Democratic Party of Tajikistan, complained that in Dushanbe, his party”s observers were made to sit in corners of the polling stations and were unable to keep an eye on the process.
The Communist Party and the Islamic Revival Party (IRPT) have emerged as the main contenders to the ruling President People”s Democratic Party. Both parties held a small number of seats in the outgoing assembly.
The IRPT is Central Asia”s only Islamist political party that is registered to work legally. With its young leadership and swelling ranks, the party aimed to use the election to strengthen its representation in the parliament.
But despite campaigning hard, IRP leader Muhiddin Kabiri says he is discouraged by what he saw during the election day. “We hoped that these elections would be better in comparison to the elections of 2005. But unfortunately, according to reports we received in our election headquarters from polling stations, authorities in districts are still not ready for transparent and democratic elections,” Kabiri said.
News agencies quoted Kabiri as saying his supporters have registered numerous violations, including multiple voting and obstruction of the work of electoral observers and poll workers. Kabiri said he believed his party could have won 10 seats in parliament in a fair vote. The party has two seats in the outgoing legislature.
International monitors are due to issue their assessment on March 1. Tajikistan has never held an election judged free and fair by Western observers and few analysts expect the February 28 vote to be an exception.
Despite the criticism of his opponents, President Rahmon called the elections an important political event to promote the country”s economic and social life. While voting close to his official residence in Dushanbe Rahmon told journalists that he prefers to keep quiet on election day and will answer questions later.
“From the point view of improvement of the international image of Tajikistan, the more transparent, more free, and more democratic parliamentary elections are, the more important they for the people and the country of Tajikistan,” Rahmon said in response to a question from RFE/RL”s Tajik Service.
Tajikistan”s Central Election Commission is expected to announce preliminary results on March 1. Official final results will be announced two weeks later.
