The People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT) is expected to hold its extraordinary 15th congress in Dushanbe on September 3.
A source at the PDPT office in Dushanbe says a decision to hold the extraordinary congress on September 3 was taken at a session of the PDPT Executive Committee that took place in Dushanbe at the end of the last week.
According to him, the PDPT Executive Committee session was presided over by President Emomali Rahmon.
The session participants, in particular, noted that incumbent president, who was reelected on November 6, 2013, had mostly fulfilled his election program by to-date.
“The main issue of the upcoming extraordinary congress will be nomination of candidate for president,” the source said.
Recall, Tajikistan's parliament has set October 11 as the date for the country's next presidential election. The resolution on the election date was approved on August 6 during a joint session of both chamber of parliament.
Now, political parties and trade unions of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), Sughd and Khatlon provinces as well as Dushanbe may nominate their candidates for presidency.
Meanwhile, experts say there is only one intrigue remaining: whether the incumbent President Emomali Rahmon will seek another seven-year term, or his son Rustam Emomali, who is Majlisi Milli (Tajikistan’s upper chamber of parliament) Speaker and also Mayor of Dushanbe, will run for the presidency. According to them, other candidates that will run in the October will serve a purely decorative function.
Emomali Rahmon, who is in power since 1992, may seek a new term in office. It is speculated that his son Rustam Emomali or a close ally could run if he does not.
The PDPT is the only political party in Tajikistan that has its offices in Dushanbe and in a number of cities and districts of the country.
The party now has its offices in eighteen cities and districts across the country. In some districts, the party rents buildings for its district organizations.
The PDPT organizing committee was established in 1993, and the party itself was established on December 10, 1994. Until April 1998, it was called the People's Party of Tajikistan.
The party stands for a secular state and society (secularism).
The People’s Democratic Party is the largest political party in Tajikistan, boasting more than 500,000 registered members. President Emomali Rahmon is chairman of the party.
The party has its branches in all regions and largest settlements of Tajikistan. The youth wing of the party is called the Sozandagoni Vatan (Creators of the Motherland).
At the latest legislative elections that took place on March 1, 2020, the PDPT won 65.4 percent of the vote and 51 out of 63 seats. At the previous parliamentary elections, March 1, 2015, the ruling party won 65.4 percent of the vote and 51 out of 63 seats. At the legislative elections that took place on February 28, 2010, the PDPT won 71.69% of the popular vote and 45 out of 63 seats. At the parliamentary elections that took place on February 27, 2005, the PDPT won 74% of the popular vote and 52 out of 63 seats (74 percent of the popular vote). This was an increase from the 2000 elections, in which they won 64.9% of the vote and 38 seats.
