Tajikistan’s three major opposition parties are in disarray less than three months before the country’s presidential elections. The Islamic Renaissance Party, the Social-Democratic Party, and the Democratic Party of Tajikistan have postponed naming their presidential candidates until their conventions in September.

DUSHANBE, August 24, 2006 (RFE/RL) — With a presidential election scheduled for November in Tajikistan, the young, forward-thinking leader of the Islamic Renaissance Party (HNIT), Mohiedin Kabiri, is in a desperate state following the death of the charismatic leader of the party, Said Abdullo Nuri.

Nuri — who died on August 9 after “a serious illness” — was the backbone of opposition leadership in Tajikistan. Kabiri now has the daunting task of leading the party in Nuri’s shadow. He also needs to bring energy and a new strategy for his party in the presidential election, and must assert his authority to bring unity to the some 26,000 members of the HNIT.

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An even bigger task is awaiting the Democratic Party of Tajikistan (HDT) in the absence of its influential leader, Mahmudruzi Iskandarov, who is serving a 23-year prison term. The acting leader of the party, Rahmatullo Valliev, says he will announce his candidacy. But there are at least four other contenders and the final choice will be made by party members at their mid-September convention. Valliev, who is in his early 50s, said the party’s entire managing board may be changed.

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Source link: http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/08/ce926b40-a58f-4215-8171-025bd977ebce.html

I think, for now it is better for Tajikistan to have one president for a long time who can guarantee political stability than changing him regularly and have instability in the country which can become the reason of another Civil War. No, we don’t need it.

I know, it seems weird to people who are used to live in democratic states that we don’t change our presidents regularly. That�s because we don’t have a political culture which exists in democratic countries, where presidents come and go through fair elections, and its not a big deal that someone loses, but in post-soviet Central Asia it�s different. Common people are not politically active, and they are still not prepared enough to western type of elections.

I�m sure that Rahmonov truly believes that his country is democratic, and no one will be able to prove to him the reverse. I agree that our president is authoritarian and he does want to leave his position but for now we don�t have another choice. That�s the fate of our people.:sad: