DUSHANBE, October 2, 2013 Asia-Plus — 128,341 signatures have been collected by October 2 to support the Democratic Party of Tajikistan (DPT)’s candidate for president.
We will recall that the DDPT held its pre-election congress on September 17 and DPT leader Saidjaffar Ismonov was nominated to run in the 2013 presidential election, which is scheduled for November 6.
In an interview with Asia-Plus, Saidjaffar Ismonov expressed confidence on October 2 that his campaign staff will be able to collect the necessary number for signatures for registration of a presidential candidate (210,000) by October 7.
Ismonov’s pre-election campaign staff is led by the DPT first deputy chairman, Tabarali Ziyozoda.
According to Ismonov, representatives of his campaigns staff have no any problems with collection of signatures in the provinces.
At the same time, Mr. Ismonov noted that it would be good if the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER) extended the signature collection period. “Many political scientists and persons nominated to run in the presidential election share my opinion,” Ismonov noted.
The Democratic Party of Tajikistan can trace its origins back to the last days of the Soviet Union. Registered on June 21, 1991 and banned by the Supreme Court on June 21, 1993, the Democratic Party of Tajikistan was reregistered on December 3, 1999.
At the end of 1990s, two factions laid claim to the Democratic Party of Tajikistan: the Almaty platform led by Mahmadruzi Iskandarov and the Tehran platform run by Azam Afzali. The Tehran platform later transformed itself into the Taraqqiyot (Progress) Party.
On October 5, 2005, the Supreme Court sentenced DPT leader Mahmadruzi Iskandarov to 23 years in prison. The sentence followed his conviction on charges of terrorism, the embezzlement of state funds, and the illegal storage of weapons, though his supporters say he was jailed for political motives. The party split into two factions again and the Ministry of Justice recognized Masoud Sobirov as the legitimate leader of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan in October 2006.
On December 23, 2012, DPT held an extraordinary congress and Saidjaffar Ismonov, the leader of one of the DPT wings, was elected as chairman of the party.
The Democratic Party of Tajikistan now has 8,000 members.
