Opposition Offers New Ideas

An alternative national development plan drawn up by the Tajik opposition is unlikely to find support in parliament, but NBCentralAsia observers say the initiative may prompt a more constructive dialogue between the authorities and other political forces, fostering a more democratic atmosphere.



Rahmatillo Zoirov, the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan, SDPT, announced last week that his party had come up with an alternative national development strategy for the period to 2015.



Zoirov said the SDPT’s strategy differs from the government’s one in that it sets out democratic and electoral principles, proposes revisions to the current regional structure of Tajikistan, and talks about promoting political pluralism, media and non-government associations.



Political scientist Parviz Mullojanov says the SDPT strategy document is likely to give more weight to legal issues, because its architect Zoirov is a well-known lawyer.



“The SDPT differs from other political parties in the amount of attention it pays to legal structural matters,” said Mullojanov.



By contrast, the official government strategy developed in mid-2006 concentrates on the economy, and sets out the goals of achieving stable growth, halving the number of poor people by 2015, attracting foreign investment, developing the private sector, and reforming state governance.



The government’s draft strategy has been submitted for review by experts at the United Nations, the World Bank and other international institutions organisations, which will have the final say on whether it goes ahead. Economists say implementing the plan could cost over 13 billion US dollars.



Independent experts doubt that the government or other state institutions will take the alternative document on board. But they still say the initiative is a positive step by the SDPT to get away from just criticising the government and engage it in a constructive dialogue.



Shokirjon Hakimov, the SDPT’s deputy chairman, told NBCentralAsia that the strategy is unlikely to be adopted given that parliament is accustomed to approving only those documents drafted by the governing People’s Democratic Party, but he said the government could take on board some or all of the recommendations contained in it.



Saifullo Safarov, deputy director of the Centre for Strategic Studies, says the SDPT strategy is one of the first substantive moves undertaken by any political party to achieve a more democratic society.



“We’re always criticising the parties for their lack of proposals and development programmes, so this initiative is a step forward,” he said.



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