DUSHANBE, MAY 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon can now rule over Tajikistan for his entire life after people voted in a referendum to scrap limits on presidential terms.
The referendum also lowered the age that a person can run for president to 30 from 35, potentially allowing Mr Rakhmon’s son to run for office in 2020 if he was needed, and also banned political parties linked to a religion. The main opposition party in Tajikistan had been the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan until it was outlawed last year and its leaders chased into exile or arrested.
At its core, the referendum gives Mr Rakhmon almost total control over Tajikistan.
Officially, the Central Elections Committee said that turnout was 92% and that 96.6% of people had voted for the changes.
But while, at least openly, few people in Tajikistan are prepared to express any dissatisfaction with Mr Rakhmon, some were critical of the referendum.
Malika, a 52-year-old teacher, said people had voted for the changes because they think that Mr Rakhmon is a guarantor of peace and stability.
“It’s simple and depressing. People do not want war and accept whatever the government does. We all saw how our people died,” she said referring to a civil war in the mid-1990s. “We just want stability and do not care who runs the country and for how long.”
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 282, published on May 27 2016)