DUSHANBE, March 6, 2015, Asia-Plus – President Emomali Rahmon yesterday signed a decree on holding the first session of the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) of the fifth convocation March 17, according to the Tajik president’s official website.
The president convokes the first session of the Majlisi Namoyandagon during a month after its election.
The first session of the Majlisi Namoyandagon is opened by the eldest deputy; he/she conducts the session until the chairperson of the Majlisi Namoyandagon is elected.
During the first session, the chairperson of the Majlisi Namoyandagon, deputy chairpersons and heads of the Majlisi Namoyandagon permanent committees and commissions will be elections.
We will recall that parliamentary elections were held on March 1.
The ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won parliamentary elections. The Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER) head Shermuhammad Shohiyon announced on March 2 that the PDP, led by President Emomali Rahmon, received 65.2 percent of the votes cast in the March 1 elections. He said voter turnout was 87.7 percent. The PDP will control 51 seats in the 63-seat Majlisi Namoyandagon.
The Agrarian Party (APT), the Party of Economic Reforms (PER), and the Socialist Party (SPT) also won seats in parliament. The APT received 11.8 percent of the vote, the PER – 7.6 percent, and the SPT – 5.2 percent. The SPT gained entrance to the Majlisi Namoyandagon for the first time.
Meanwhile, for the first time since Tajikistan gained independence in the 1991 Soviet collapse, the Communist Party (CPT) and the Islamic Revival Party (IRP) failed to clear the 5 percent threshold needed to win parliamentary seats.
CPT leader Shodi Shabdolov called the elections “a political farce.”
In a postelection speech on March 2, IRP leader Muhiddin Kabiri said that the Islamic Revival Party does not recognize the election results published by the CCER.
The March 1 elections were criticized by international monitors. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)’s international observer mission said on March 2 that the parliamentary polls took place in a “restricted political space” and failed to provide a level playing field for candidates.
