Parliamentary elections were held in Tajikistan on 28 February 2010 alongside local elections.[1] A second round in one constituency held on 14 March.[1] The result was a victory for President Emomali Rakhmon's People's Democratic Party (PDP), which won 54 of the 63 seats. However, all parties with the exception of the Islamic Renaissance Party were considered supporters of the regime.
Electoral system
editOf the 63 seats in the Assembly of Representatives, 41 were elected by majority vote in single-member constituencies.[2] If no candidate received a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round was held.[2] A second round was also held in cases where voter turnout was lower than 50% in the first round.[2] The remaining 22 seats were elected by proportional representation at the national level, with parties having to cross a 5% threshold to win seats.[2]
Prior to the elections the Communist Party had proposed abolishing the 7,000 somoni ($1,600) deposit required by candidates, arguing that it was too high.[1] However, it remained in place.[1]
A total of 221 candidates contested the election representing eight parties.[1]
Conduct
editWhilst OSCE stated that the election had had "a generally good atmosphere",[1] international observers stated the election had "failed on many basic democratic standards", with widespread electoral fraud occurring.[3] This included ballot box stuffing and proxy voting.[1]
In the run-up to the elections, state media had focused on the electricity policies of the PDP government.[1] The Communist Party stressed social justice issue, focussing on education, medical care and "old age with dignity".[1]
Results
edit| Party | National | Constituency | Total seats | +/– | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
| People's Democratic Party | 2,321,436 | 71.04 | 16 | 38 | 54 | +5 | |||
| Islamic Renaissance Party | 268,596 | 8.22 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| Communist Party | 229,080 | 7.01 | 2 | 0 | 2 | –2 | |||
| Agrarian Party | 166,935 | 5.11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | New | |||
| Party of Economic Reforms | 165,324 | 5.06 | 1 | 1 | 2 | New | |||
| Democratic Party | 33,657 | 1.03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Social Democratic Party | 27,006 | 0.83 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | |||
| Socialist Party | 18,029 | 0.55 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Independents | 1 | 1 | –4 | ||||||
| Against all | 37,597 | 1.15 | – | – | – | ||||
| Total | 3,267,660 | 100.00 | 22 | 41 | 63 | 0 | |||
| Valid votes | 3,267,660 | 99.34 | |||||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 21,710 | 0.66 | |||||||
| Total votes | 3,289,370 | 100.00 | |||||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 3,641,778 | 90.32 | |||||||
| Source: OCSE | |||||||||
In the Konibodom constituency a second round was required. This was held on 14 March, and was won by the PDP.[4][5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i Majlisi namoyandogon (House of Representatives) IPU
- ^ a b c d Election profile IFES
- ^ "Tajikistan elections criticised by poll watchdog". BBC News. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
- ^ "Tajik ruling party gains 53 of 63 seats in parliament - People's Daily Online". English.people.com.cn. 3 March 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
- ^ Inter-Parliamentary Union. "IPU PARLINE database: TAJIKISTAN (Majlisi namoyandogon), Last elections". Ipu.org. Retrieved 21 August 2010.