DUSHANBE, September 18, 2014, Asia-Plus — The ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has decided to hold its 12th congress on December 27, 2014.
“The congress will be held at the Kokhi Vahdat State Complex in Dushanbe and more than 1,200 delegates from all regions of the country will attend it,” Usmon Soliyev, the head of the PDP public relations department, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
Meanwhile, the PDP Central Executive Committee held a plenum on September 18 to review the results of the past twenty years’ work, discuss issues related to convening the party congress, and endorse the list of the party candidates for the lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament.
According to Usmon Soliyev, the ruling party will include 28 candidates in the party list and its candidates will run in all 41 single mandate constituencies.
Founded in 1993, the People’s Democratic Party is the largest political party in Tajikistan, boasting some 250,000 registered members. President Emomali Rahmon is chairman of the party. The PDP now controls more than 60 percent of the seats in parliament.
Tajikistan’s Parliament (Majlisi Oli) has two chambers: the Assembly of Representatives (Majlisi Namoyandagon) and the National Assembly (Majlisi Milli). Majlisi Namoyandagon has 63 members, elected for a five-year term in, 22 by proportional representation and 41 in single-seat constituencies. Majlisi Milli has 33 members, 25 elected for a five-year term by local majlis members and eight appointed by the president.
