“As in the Soviet Union”. Presidential Elections were Held in Tajikistan The incumbent President, Emomali Rahmon, as expected, won the election with triumph. According to the Central Election Commission, over 90 percent of voters voted for him. Follow us on LinkedIn Voter turnout, according to preliminary data from the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER), was 85.39% or 4.221 million voters. The total number of voters was 4,900,545 citizens. On October 12, CCER chairman Bakhtiyor Khudoyorzoda said that 3,837,927 people or 90.92% of voters voted for Rahmon’s candidacy. A total of 3,375 polling stations were opened in Tajikistan and 39 in foreign countries. Emomali Rahmon has been re-elected for the next seven years. He has served as President since 1994. The Law on the Leader of the Nation allows him to run for the president an unlimited number of times. CABAR.asia journalists observed the voting process, which began at 6 am and lasted until 8 pm. The observation showed that the necessary precautions related to the COVID-19 pandemic were observed at the sites. Voters were provided with masks and given the opportunity to disinfect their hands. However, the rest of the voting was marked by additions and violations. For instance, at a polling station located at school No. 78 in the Rudaki district, one of the voters threw two ballots into the ballot box, while the other threw four at once. Although according to the law, each voter has only one vote and, accordingly, can only cast one ballot in the ballot box. When asked by a CABAR.asia journalist, both violators said that they voted for their family members who fell ill and could not come. The management of the polling station did not give a clear answer to the question of “As in the Soviet Union”. Presidential Elections were Held in Tajikistan journalists about the reasons why they issued extra ballots to violators. After the outrage of some of those present, one of the supervisors told colleagues that they should not give out more than one ballot to anyone in the future. Two observers from the ruling People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT) were present at the site. However, when asked by journalists about their reasons for ignoring the issuance of extra ballots, these observers stated that they did not see this violation. It should be noted that the place where the observers were located was really far from the ballot boxes and voting booths, which complicated the observation process. However, the PDPT observers did not protest because of their unfavourable location. There were no international observers at the site. The CCER claimed that 145 international and over 13,000 local observers were present at the elections. According to journalists, voter turnout was low. Basically, those who wanted to take part in the voting process came in the first hours of the work of the election commissions. However, there were not many of them either. “As in the Soviet Union”. Presidential Elections were Held in Tajikistan “As in the Soviet Union”. Presidential Elections were Held in Tajikistan “As in the Soviet Union”. Presidential Elections were Held in Tajikistan “As in the Soviet Union”. Presidential Elections were Held in Tajikistan “As in the Soviet Union”. Presidential Elections were Held in Tajikistan “As in the Soviet Union”. Presidential Elections were Held in Tajikistan “As in the Soviet Union”. Presidential Elections were Held in Tajikistan “As in the Soviet Union”. Presidential Elections were Held in Tajikistan “As in the Soviet Union”. Presidential Elections were Held in Tajikistan “As in the Soviet Union”. Presidential Elections were Held in Tajikistan Asomiddin Rakhimov, a 66-year-old resident of the Firdavsi district of Dushanbe, was among the first voters. Rakhimov said that he came to vote for the “development of the country”. He does not agree with those who claim that the outcome of the elections is already predetermined. “I am confident that my voice has power and significance,” Rakhimov said. However, in the second half of the day, the already low turnout fell further. A typical picture was when there was no one at the polling stations, except for the bored members of the election commissions. Oppositionists do not believe in the figures of the Tajik Central Election Commission The group of international observers of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly (IPA) stated that the presidential elections in Tajikistan “were held in accordance with the Constitution and the Constitutional Law on Election of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan. They were free, competitive, consistent with the generally accepted principles of democratic elections, and ensured the free expression of the will of the citizens of the Republic of Tajikistan. ” A similar opinion was expressed by the Observer Mission of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). “The Mission notes that the elections took place on a wide competitive basis, in an atmosphere of openness and transparency of the election campaign, with an active participation of civil society members, and under favourable conditions created for the citizens, who could make an Observers of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly. Photo: iacis.ru independent and conscious choice,” the SCO observers said in a statement. The European Union (EU) stated that “the presidential elections seem to have been carried out in a peaceful and orderly manner”. “However, we note that several of the recommendations identified in the final report of “As in the Soviet Union”. Presidential Elections were Held in Tajikistan OSCE/ODIHR Electoral Assessment Mission that was deployed in March 2020 in connection with the parliamentary elections remain valid and unimplemented, such as the independence of the media environment and political plurality,” the EU spokesman said in a statement. The EU also reported that within 6-8 weeks the organization’s experts will publish the final report on the presidential elections in Tajikistan. Four of Emomali Rahmon’s opponents announced the recognition of election results and that they had no complaints about how the voting was conducted. Saidjafar Usmonzoda, chairman of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan and a Member of Parliament, believes that this year’s presidential elections were held in a calm and peaceful atmosphere. “The only drawbacks of the elections were insufficient campaigning of the candidates. It was necessary to install special billboards to demonstrate the candidates’ programs, so that the public was informed of their intentions. Many people not only do not know the candidates’ programs, but they do not know most of them,” Usmonzoda stated in an interview with CABAR. He also did not notice any violations of the electoral legislation on the day of voting. However, already in the first hours of voting, social networks reported the facts of “family voting” – when one family member was given the ballots of all his relatives. These people claimed that their relatives were at work and asked them to vote for the whole family. The CCER did not comment on the reports of this. Faromuz Irgashev, a 30-year-old lawyer from the city of Khorog who unsuccessfully attempted to register in the elections on his Saidjafar Usmonzoda. Photo from personal page on Facebook.com own, told CABAR that he did not go to the elections because he did not believe in their “As in the Soviet Union”. Presidential Elections were Held in Tajikistan fairness. “I did not go to the elections because I do not believe in their transparency at all. Better get on with your own business. According to my observations, mainly authorities went to the elections,” Irgashev said. The leader of Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan, Rahmatillo Zoirov, on his Facebook page expressed doubts about the accuracy CCER’s data on voter turnout. The CCER said that by 15:00 on October 11, about 71% of voters had voted in the presidential elections in Tajikistan. “You need to be more objective and humble. You cannot lie and cheat to this extent,” the SDPT leader said, commenting on the message. In an interview with the media, Zoirov stated that SDPT had boycotted the elections, but party members are monitoring the voting process, including voter turnout. He also said that SDPT does not recognize the results of these elections. Rahmatillo Zoirov. Photo from personal page on Facebook.com Some social media users also questioned the CCER’s turnout data, pointing out that at least one million voters or around 20% are in labour migration abroad. For instance, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, over a million Tajik citizens were registered by the department in Russia in June of this year. A significant number of Tajik migrants live in Moscow. However, the Tajik Ambassador to Russia Imomuddin Sattorov stated that he expects about five thousand voters to come to the polling station opened at the Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan in Moscow. “As in the Soviet Union”. Presidential Elections were Held in Tajikistan Voting at the Embassy of Tajikistan in Moscow. Photo: tajembassy.ru “The turnout met our expectations. Probably, around 16:00, we can say that 90-95% of the number of people that we expected, came and voted. However we, based on the situation, did not expect this – that people will be actively coming throughout the day,” the Ambassador said. Tajik journalist and expert Nurali Davlat believes that the past elections were the most unexciting ones since independence. According to him, they reminded him of uncontested elections that took place during the Soviet era. “At the same time, there was a tendency that each election was less interesting than the previous ones,” said Nurali Davlat. Timeline of the election process August 6 – two chambers of the Tajik Parliament agreed to hold presidential elections on October 11.