Parliamentary elections were held in

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

on 15 December 2013. Although they were the first multi-party elections in the country's history, both contesting parties claimed loyalty to President

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957) is a Turkmen politician and former dentist who is currently the chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan. He previously served as the second president of Turkmenistan from ...

. The ruling Democratic Party emerged as the largest faction in the Assembly with 47 of the 125 seats, losing its parliamentary majority for the first time since independence. The elections were criticized by the

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, and opposition groups such as the

Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to: Peoples Historical ethnonym * Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages Ethnic groups * Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...

. Farid Tukhbatulin of the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights said that there was little difference between the two major parties, arguing that neither truly represented opposition groups.

Background

A new law on political parties was adopted in January 2012, with the government claiming it would make it easier for new parties to be formed to challenge the ruling Democratic Party. Subsequently, the

Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs The Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Ukraine () is a political party in Ukraine registered in April 2000. Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatoliy Kinakh is one of its most noticeable members. History At the parliamentary elections on ...

was established in August 2012.

Campaign

A total of 283 candidates registered to contest the 125 seats in the Assembly. The Democratic Party put forward 99 candidates, the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs nominated 28 candidates, whilst a further 163 were fielded by groups including a women's union, trade unions and a youth union.FACTBOX-Parties and candidates in Turkmenistan's parliamentary election
Reuters, 13 December 2013

Results

References

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Parliamentary elections in Turkmenistan

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results {{Asia-election-stub