Politics of Turkmenistan

Parliamentary elections were held in Turkmenistan on 25 March 2018, alongside local elections.[1]

Electoral system

The 125 members of the Assembly were elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting.[2] A turnout of at least 50% of registered voters is required to validate the result in a constituency, forcing a repeat of the election in it if not attained.

Campaign

A total of 284 candidates contested the elections; 117 from the Democratic Party, 28 from the Agrarian Party, 23 from the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and 116 as independents.[3]

Conduct

The 2018 OSCE election observer mission noted,

The 25 March elections lacked important prerequisites of a genuinely democratic electoral process. The political environment is only nominally pluralist and does not offer voters political alternatives. Exercise of fundamental freedoms is severely curtailed, inhibiting free expression of the voters’ will. Despite measures to demonstrate transparency, the integrity of elections was not ensured, leaving veracity of results in doubt.[4]

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Democratic Party of Turkmenistan55+8
Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs11–3
Agrarian Party of Turkmenistan11New
Independents48+41
Total1250
Total votes3,017,801–
Registered voters/turnout3,291,31291.69
Source: CEC, IPU

References

  1. ^ Turkmenistan preparing for election to parliament, local governing bodies Trend, 27 December 2017
  2. ^ Electoral system IPU
  3. ^ Speech by chairman of the Central Election Commission of Turkmenistan G. Muradov at a briefing, March 26 2018 Archived 2018-05-01 at the Wayback Machine Central Election Commission
  4. ^ "TURKMENISTAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 25 March 2018 ODIHR Election Assessment Mission Final Report" (PDF).