Turkmens vote with little choice
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 15, 2008 00:00
ASHGABAT - Voters in Turkmenistan cast ballots yesterday in a parliamentary election hailed by the government as an exercise in democracy but dismissed by critics as a sham.
It was the first election since the death of longtime autocrat Saparmurat Niyazov two years ago, which kindled hopes the Central Asian country would gradually loosen its oppressive political regime and introduce greater freedoms.
The government of his successor, President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov, has cast the election as a key step in the development of democracy, but government opponents claim the election is aimed to appease Western countries eager to win access to its vast natural-gas reserves but wary of its record on democracy and human rights.
No opposition
While all 125 parliament seats up for grabs in yesterday's vote were contested - unlike previous elections, in which many candidates ran unopposed - only one political party is legally registered in Turkmenistan, and government opponents have no foothold in politics. The overwhelming majority of the 288 candidates represent the pro-presidential Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, with the rest drawn mainly from state-approved civic groups. All appear to have run on a platform of staunch support for Berdymukhamedov.
Although there was little campaigning and minimal campaign coverage on state-run television, turnout was high in a nation where voting has traditionally been strongly encouraged by the state. The U.N. and OSCE sent small contingents to assess the conduct of yesterday's vote.
The government of his successor, President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov, has cast the election as a key step in the development of democracy, but government opponents claim the election is aimed to appease Western countries eager to win access to its vast natural-gas reserves but wary of its record on democracy and human rights.
No opposition
While all 125 parliament seats up for grabs in yesterday's vote were contested - unlike previous elections, in which many candidates ran unopposed - only one political party is legally registered in Turkmenistan, and government opponents have no foothold in politics. The overwhelming majority of the 288 candidates represent the pro-presidential Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, with the rest drawn mainly from state-approved civic groups. All appear to have run on a platform of staunch support for Berdymukhamedov.
Although there was little campaigning and minimal campaign coverage on state-run television, turnout was high in a nation where voting has traditionally been strongly encouraged by the state. The U.N. and OSCE sent small contingents to assess the conduct of yesterday's vote.