DUSHANBE, October 25, 2012, Asia-Plus — In the next presidential election due in November 2013, the Communist Party of Tajikistan (CPT) will not form a coalition with other political parties, CPT leader Shodi Shabdolov told Asia-Plus in an interview.
He stressed that their party is not going to support a single candidate from other parties for the office of president.
According to him, this decision is conditioned by ideological principles. “For ideological reasons, Communists cannot form a coalition with the Islamic Revival Party (IRP), the Social-Democratic Party (SDP) or other political parties of the country, said Shabdolov. “We even cannot nominate a single candidate with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) because we do not recognize privatization of state-run facilities while the PDP supports this policy.”
CPT leader added that their party would decide on its candidate at its congress closer to the election.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Revival Party leader Muhiddin Kabiri noted the importance of the November 2013 elections, though he questioned their legitimacy. An article “IRP Leader Speaks in Washington, Unsure of Party Goals and Wary of Tajikistan’s Future” by Dilafruz Khonikboyeva posted on Asia-Plus’ website on October 19 notes that speaking at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University in Washington DC, USA, IRP leader noted on October 16 that the leadership of IRP is undecided on a candidate. “The options are sponsoring an IRP candidate, supporting another party’s candidate, or forming a coalition with other parties behind a common candidate.”
