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Tajikistan Parliamentary Election Deemed Fraudulent By OSCE
March 3, 2010
By: Randi Zung | Printer Friendly

The February 28 Tajik parliamentary election experienced high rates of fraudulent conduct, BBC News reports.  According to election officials, there was an 87.1 percent voter turnout – which BBC News notes as being remarkably high considering that nearly half of the country’s 7.3 million population is under the age of 14-years-old.  According to official results from the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER), the People's Democratic Party (PDP) won 53 out of the 63 parliamentary seats.  The PDP has been the dominant political party in Tajikistan since the election of President Emomali Rakhmon.  Rakhmon was first elected into presidential office in 1994.  He was re-elected in 1999, and then his term was extended to seven years.  In 2006, Rakhmon was elected for a third term, but international observers said that the presidential election was neither free nor fair.  In addition, other Tajik legislative elections have also been criticized for failing to meet international observers’ standards.

According to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the election was peaceful, but it failed to meet the requirements of a free and fair election – it “failed on many basic democratic standards.”  In addition to allegations of ballot box stuffing and voting by proxy, the report also mentions that there were also campaign irregularities – noting that candidates did not get equal access to media broadcasting.  The OCSE also criticized the transparency of the CCRE, citing a lack of clarity in their appeal procedures.  Most critically, the OSCE said that the ballot counting made it apparent that tabulation training and procedures were flawed. 

The current election laws were established in 2004, and have yet to be seriously amended despite their shortcomings being exposed in prior elections.  Included in the election law complaints are: “a lack of guarantees for an inclusive and pluralistic composition of election commissions, insufficient complaints procedures and vague procedures and lack of safeguards for essential aspects of the election process, including on voter registration, campaigning and election day procedures.”  According to the OSCE, in 2008, Tajik politicians attempted to reform the country’s election laws and formally introduced the new proposals to parliament in 2009.  All of the proposals were rejected by the PDP, who refused to consent to the approved changes.  In their opinion, the election laws did not need to be revised. 

The Associated Press reports that Islamic Revival Party leader Muhiddin Kabiri are disputing the results of the election, and that they would take legal action if their complaints were not taken seriously.  The party claims to have physical evidence proving that the PDP committed fraudulent conduct during the election.  Kabiri stated that electoral fraud “is unacceptable in a democratic society.”  In addition, Kabiri was also critical of the OSCE - noting that their report was “[diplomatic] and said nothing concrete.”  Reuters also reported that the Islamic Revival Party threatened to call for mass street protests, which are uncommon in Tajikistan because Rakhmon does not like to entertain dissenting opinions.  Rakhmon, and other members of the PDP, have dismissed the accusations of fraud.

Sources:

BBC News - Tajik opposition disputes election of President Rakhmon

Associated Press - Pro-gov't party leads Tajik elections; fraud cited

Reuters - Tajik opposition threatens protests after poll

OSCE’s Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions

Also See:

BBC Country Profile: Tajikistan