Turkmenistan - 2022 Elections
Turkmenistan is a secular democracy constitutionally, although President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov effectively controls the country along with a small inner circle. Berdimuhamedov became president in 2006 and was last re-elected in 2017. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights determined the election involved limited choice between competing political alternatives and found “serious irregularities.”
The law characterizes any opposition to the government as treason. Citizens publicly criticizing the government or the regime face intimidation and possible arrest. The law requires political parties to allow representatives of the Central Election Committee and Ministry of Justice to monitor their meetings. The government warned critics against speaking with visiting journalists or other foreigners about human rights problems.
On 25 September 2020, the People’s Council (Halk Maslahaty) approved amendments to the constitution to create a bicameral parliament, so that the Halk Maslahaty becomes the upper house and the Mejlis (Parliament) becomes the lower house. The change was scheduled to become effective after the March 28, 2021, parliamentary elections. If implemented, the Halk Maslahaty will consist of 56 members (eight representatives from each of the country’s five provinces and eight representatives directly appointed by the president), and the Mejlis will consist of 125 members.
Significant human rights issues included: reports of torture by police and prison officials; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary detention; political prisoners; politically motivated reprisal against individuals located outside the country; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; restrictions on free expression, the press, and the internet, including threats of violence and threats of unjustified arrests or prosecutions against journalists; censorship and site blocking; interference with the freedoms of peaceful assembly and freedom of association; restrictions of religious freedom; restrictions on freedom of movement; inability of citizens to change their government peacefully through free and fair elections; restrictions on political participation; corruption; lack of investigation of and accountability for violence against women; gender discrimination; trafficking in persons; the existence of laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between men; restrictions on workers’ freedom of association; and the existence of forced and child labor.
In its 2019 review of the country, Amnesty International stated, “Torture and other ill-treatment is reported to be widespread.” Human Rights Watch in its 2019 report stated, “Torture and ill-treatment remain integral to Turkmenistan’s prison system.” Activists and former prisoners related mistreatment, such as beating kidneys with plastic bottles full of water so bruises do not show on the body and a practice known as sklonka, in which prisoners are forced to stay in the open sun or cold for hours at a time.
The law does not regulate surveillance by the state security apparatus, which regularly monitored the activities of officials, citizens, opponents, and critics of the government, and foreigners. Security officials used physical surveillance, telephone tapping, electronic eavesdropping, and informers. Authorities frequently queried the parents of students studying overseas and sometimes threatened state employees with loss of employment if they maintained friendships with foreigners. Persons harassed, detained, or arrested by authorities reported that the government caused family members to be fired from their jobs or expelled from school.
The government financed and controlled the publication of books and almost all other print media and online newspapers and journals. The quasi-independent weekly newspaper Rysgal continued to operate, although its stories were largely reprints from state media outlets or reflected the views of the state news agency. The government maintained restrictions on the importation of foreign newspapers. The government controlled radio and domestic television, but satellite dishes providing access to foreign television programming were widespread throughout the country. Channels including BBC World News and the Turkmen-language version of RFE/RL were widely available through satellite dishes. Citizens also received international radio programs through satellite access.
The government continued to censor newspapers and prohibit reporting of opposition political views or any criticism of the president. To regulate domestic printing and copying activities, the government required all publishers, printers, and photocopying establishments to register their equipment. The government did not allow the publication of works on topics that were out of favor with the government, including some works of fiction. The government must approve the importation, publishing, and dissemination of religious literature.
The government continued to monitor citizens’ email and internet activity. Reports indicated the Ministry of National Security controlled the main internet access gateway and that several servers belonging to internet protocol addresses registered to the Ministry of Communications operated software that allowed the government to record Voice over Internet Protocol conversations, turn on computer cameras and microphones, and log keystrokes. Authorities blocked access to websites they considered sensitive, including YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.
Despite a constitutional provision giving citizens the ability to choose their government in periodic elections based on universal and equal suffrage, there have been no free and fair elections in the country. There was no bona fide political opposition to the president, and alternative candidates came from derivative party structures, such as the state-controlled Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, or were members of individual initiative groups. Elections were conducted by secret ballot. According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE), the election law does not meet OSCE standards.
Turkmenistan will hold an early presidential election on March 12, an official with the Central Election Commission said on February 12, after President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov hinted he plans to resign. "The president...gave us an instruction to prepare for an early presidential election on March 12," a spokesman for the commission, Bezergen Garrayev, told AFP. The date was announced a day after Berdymukhammedov told an extraordinary meeting of the upper chamber of parliament that he intended to step aside so that power can be turned over to “young leaders” amid speculation he is preparing to hand the reins of the Central Asian nation to his son.
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