Tajikistan - Politics 2006 Presidential Election
Tajikistan, with a population of approximately 7.3 million, is an authoritarian state; political life is dominated by President Emomali Rahmonov and an inner circle of loyal supporters. While the country has a constitution and a multiparty political system, in practice democratic progress was slow and political pluralism limited. The November presidential election lacked genuine competition and did not fully test democratic practices or meet international standards, although there were some improvements on voting procedures. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces. The government's human rights record remained poor and corruption continued to hamper democratic and social reform.
In June 2003, the people of Tajikistan voted in a constitutional referendum to allow president Rahmonov to run for a further two consecutive seven-year terms when his then-current one ended in 2006. The authorities put turnout at over 96% and the vote in favor at about 93%. There were only a couple of dozen international observers to monitor the referendum at all 2,800 polling stations. The next presidential election was to be in November 2013.
The proposal to extend the president's term was included among dozens of other constitutional amendments which were voted on as a single package. The opposition asserted that people were very poorly informed about what was really at stake.
In 2004 the executive branch fell further under the control of the governing party as appointments by Rakhmonov left the opposition with only 5 percent of majorgovernment positions. This event followed the expiration of the 1997 peace guarantee that theUnited Tajik Opposition (UPO) would occupy at least 30 percent of top government positions.
Tajikistan's 2006 presidential election and 2010 parliamentary elections were considered to be flawed and unfair but peaceful. President Rahmon secured a new 7-year term in the November 6, 2006 election. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) determined that democratic practices were not fully tested "due to the absence of genuine competition, which provided voters with only nominal choices." There were four other candidates on the ballot but no strong opposition candidate. The strongest opposition party, the IRPT, decided not to field a candidate and two other parties (the DPT and SDPT) boycotted the presidential election. The ruling party secured 55 of the 63 seats in the 2010 parliamentary elections, which failed to meet many key ODIHR standards on democratic elections. Some observers saw them as even worse than the flawed 2005 parliamentary elections.
The independent media were active but subjected to different means of government control and intimidation; some exerted self-censorship out of fear of government reprisal. As in previous years, the government maintained control over the media. According to international observers and media monitoring groups, the pattern was part of the government's effort to consolidate power and influence in advance of the November presidential elections. There were numerous print media outlets, private television, and radio stations, as well as six government television stations. Of the 25 private television stations, only a handful were genuinely independent, and not all of them operated without official interference. During the year the MOJ registered two new newspapers publishing political material, Fakti I Kommentari and Sobitiye. Six new publications were registered in total; the other two focused on entertainment or other nonpolitical topics. The government also permitted an opposition newspaper, published by the Democratic Party of Tajikistan, to print for a limited time.
Newspapers can be freely printed and distributed without government registration as long as the number of copies does not exceed 99. Some newspapers abided by that rule in order to avoid registration. In August the government registered three television stations and five radio companies as official organizations; only the three television stations and one radio station received licenses to operate. Broadcasting entities require registration and a license in order to apply for frequency operation and before the entity can truly be on the air. The majority of international media were allowed to operate freely, including rebroadcasts of Russian television and radio programs.
International observers concluded that democratic electoral practices were not fully tested in the November 6 presidential election due to the absence of genuine competition and political pluralism, which allowed voters only nominal choices. Requirements for candidates to collect signatures from 5 percent of the electorate-approximately 160,000 signatures-in a short time span prohibited many opposition candidates from competing. Five candidates were registered, including incumbent president Rahmonov; the other four were considered to support the incumbent administration's policies. President Rahmonov won a third seven-year term with a reported 79.3 percent of the vote. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe reported the government did not adequately implement improvements in the legislative and administrative framework, officials exercised excessive control during the campaign period, and that the actual voter turnout, while high, did not reach the 91 percent officially reported.
There were some improvements to the election process. The government worked with NGOs to educate the public on proper voting procedures. Prior to the election, the Central Commission on Elections and Referenda issued official decrees to clarify media airtime regulations for candidates, candidate's registration procedures, and voting day rules.
President Rahmonov and his administration stressed a policy of noninterference in the election process prior to November. Despite this stance, during the election observers witnessed examples of officials failing to follow procedure and denying the presence of official and accredited observers; family, proxy, and multiple voting; and ballot box stuffing. The media environment was largely under government control and Internet sites were blocked in advance of elections. Prior to election day, election commission officials were seen actively campaigning on behalf of the incumbent president. The PDPT continued to control an overwhelming majority of seats in both houses of parliament, the Majlisi Oli. The PDPT's majority status resulted in a legislative branch dominated by the executive branch.
Eight political parties were legally registered in the country. Four parties continued to be banned during the year: the Adolatkhoh Party, the Party of Popular Unity, the Party of Political and Economic Reforms, and the Agrarian Party. At year's end the MOJ had not registered the Unity Party, although it was not banned explicitly. Of three new parties seeking registration, only the Party of Economic Reform of Tajikistan and a second Agrarian Party of Tajikistan were successful. The Party of Vahdat (Unity) was not registered due to technical registration difficulties, but the party asserted the delay was politically motivated. The Progress Party of Tajikistan did not seek registration during the year. The law prohibits political parties from receiving support from religious institutions, but religiously affiliated parties, such as the IRPT can be registered.
Opposition political parties, including unregistered ones, remained small, had limited popular support, and were kept under close scrutiny by the government. While they were generally able to operate, they had difficulty obtaining access to state-run media. The chairman of the SDPT alleged that the government systematically harassed its supporters. The government occasionally sidelined political opponents and potential rivals by bringing criminal charges against them. While some of the charges were likely accurate, observers suggested the court cases were politically motivated.
During the year Rahmatullo Zoyirov, Chairman of the SDPT, was questioned by the General Prosecutor's Office. Zoyirov also suffered health problems and alleged he was poisoned.
The Democratic Party of Tajikistan alleged that the government assisted in dividing the party leading to the presidential election. The Central Committee on Election and Referenda officially recognized the new faction of the party and refused to acknowledge the original Democratic Party, led by imprisoned Chairman, Mahmadruzi Iskandarov. The party appealed to the MOJ to affirm its status as the only Democratic Party of Tajikistan.
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