Campaign Restrictions Made Tajik Election Outcome "Inevitable"
| Publisher | Institute for War and Peace Reporting |
| Author | Galim Faskhutdinov |
| Publication Date | 7 March 2015 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | RCA Issue 754 |
| Cite as | Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Campaign Restrictions Made Tajik Election Outcome "Inevitable", 7 March 2015, RCA Issue 754, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/54fed4a34.html [accessed 3 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The repeat victory won by Tajikistan's ruling party and the total defeat of the Islamic and Communist parties were the result of a campaign in which all the odds were against the opposition.
In the March 1 ballot for the lower house of parliament, the People's Democratic Party of President Imomali Rahmon won with over 65 per cent of the vote. The three other parties that passed the five per cent threshold to win seats were pro-government, as welI.
The Islamic Rebirth Party (IRP) and the Communist Party, which won two seats each in the 2010 election, had failed to win any seats this time, according to poll officials.
Commentators say that in the months leading up to the vote, the IRP was targeted by a campaign of harassment and underhand tactics designed to discredit it. The Communists, meanwhile, seem to have run out of fresh ideas.
An OSCE monitoring team found major flaws in the election, which it said was "not administered in an impartial manner", with "multiple voting and ballot-box stuffing".
But the outcome was largely shaped well before election day. The OSCE noted that "imbalanced coverage by the state media, negative reporting on the opposition Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan, as well as the absence of genuine political debate considerably limited the possibility for voters to make an informed choice".
Across Tajikistan, a political party's ability to campaign very much depended on the will of local government officials.
In the village jamoat [commune], which brings together several villages, a great deal depends on the person in charge," Ravshan Abdullaev, head of the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia-Tajikistan, said. "If he wants to allow opposition leaders to have meetings the the electorate, he will do so. If he isn't inclined to, then he won't. The part of power [ People's Democratic Party] had a special advantage here, of course, since virtually all heads of communes are members of it."
