Opposition Boycott By-elections

Opposition party members are boycotting by-elections in Tajikistan in protest against governing party dominance and the “pre-determined” outcome, say observers.



By-elections for three seats in the lower house of parliament will be held in Kulob, and an area of the Firdausi district on April 1. The governing People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and the opposition Islamic Rebirth Party are preparing their candidates but previous elections have shown that political activity amongst the opposition is very low.



The seats currently being filled were vacated when parliamentarians were appointed as government officials.



In recent by-elections held on February 11, representatives of the PDP won both seats in the Kulyab and Vose constituencies, raising the governing party’s lower house majority to 64 per cent.



A diplomatic who monitored the elections said that what he saw highlights the flaws in Tajikistan’s election process.



There was a limited choice of candidates, continual violations of the voting process and little activity from political parties in both elections, he told NBCentralAsia.



The only candidate who stood for the Vose constituency election was a representative of the PDP.



“I regret that the leaders of political parties operating in Kulyab don’t consider it necessary to nominate their candidates for participation in the Vose constituency election. When else can they show themselves to the people if not during elections?” said the source.



Elections to the lower house of parliament are based on a mixed system where 22 out of 63 parliamentarians are elected by proportional representation; the remaining 41 through a first-past-the=post system.



Dodarbek Saidaliev, director of the Kulyab-based NGO Shahrvand, believes that opposition parties are apathetic because they stand little chance against the dominant PDP in rigged elections.



“We cannot expect someone [who isn’t a PDP member] to win, especially as these by-elections are held to replace PDP deputies,” said Saidaliev.



Shokirjon Hakimov, deputy head of the Social Democratic Party, thinks the opposition’s refusal to participate is their way of protesting against “pre-determined elections”.



“In this case, the refusal of political parties to take part in the recent elections in the Vose, Hamadoni and Kabodien regions is not an indicator of weakness. It is a form of protest,” he said.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)