Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, already the longest-serving leader in the former Soviet Union, has ended speculation that he might step down this year to allow his son Rustam Emomali, who is Mayor of Dushanbe also Speaker of the Majlisi Milli (Tajikistan’s upper chamber of parliament), to take power with an announcement that he has been nominated for the sixth-straight term.
The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Tajikistan formally announced its nomination of Emomali Rahmon yesterday, suggesting that the incumbent president will participate in the October 11 election.
The other candidates in the election currently comprise Rustam Latifzoda from the Agrarian Party, Abduhalim Ghafforov from the Socialist Party, Saidjaffar Usmonzoda of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan, and Rustam Rahmatzoda from the Party of Economic Reforms.
The Social-Democratic Party, which is the only officially registered opposition party in Tajikistan, has declined to nominate its candidate for president.
The ruling People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT) and the Communist Party of Tajikistan (CPT) will nominate their candidates in early September.
In the last presidential election that took place in 2013, Emomali Rahmon was reelected by a landslide, with 84 percent of the vote.
