Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

elects on national level a

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

— the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

— and a

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

. The elections in Turkmenistan since its split from the Soviet Union have been widely criticized for being completely fraudulent and attempting to give an appearance of legitimacy to what is in reality a

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...

. Parties in Turkmenistan are the

Democratic Party of Turkmenistan ) , colours = Green Gold , seats1_title = Seats in the Assembly of Turkmenistan , seats1 = , colors = Green Gold , website tdp.gov.tm The Democratic Party of Turkmenistan ( tk, Türkmenistanyň Demokratik Partiýasy; ; TDP) has been the ...

and the

Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs The Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan ( tk, Türkmenistanyň Senagatçylar we Telekeçiler partiýasy) is a political party in Turkmenistan. The party originated in August 2012 as first legal opposition party in the countr ...

. The president has a seven year term, while the legislature has a five-year term.

Presidential elections

On declaring independence from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, the president was to be elected for a five-year term by the people. President

Saparmurat Niyazov Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov; tk, Saparmyrat Ataýewiç Nyýazow, in Cyrillic: Сапармырат Атаевич Ныязов (19 February 1940 – 21 December 2006), also known as Turkmenbashi, was a Turkmen politician who rule ...

, was elected unopposed on 21 June 1992. In a referendum in January 1994, it was decided that he would be president for eight more years. In 1999, the country's parliament named him president for life. He died on 21 December 2006. An election to replace him was held on 11 February 2007, which was won by ruling party candidate

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957), also known as Arkadag (Cyrillic: Аркадаг, "protector"), is a Turkmen politician who served as the second president of Turkmenistan from 2006 to 2022. A dentist by profes ...

Legislative elections

Turkmenistan elects a

on a national level. The

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

(''Mejlis'') has 125 members, elected for a five-year term in single seat

constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

. Political parties are the

(TDP), the

Agrarian Party of Turkmenistan The Agrarian Party of Turkmenistan ( tk, Türkmenistanyň agrar partiýasy) is an officially registered political party in Turkmenistan, founded on September 28, 2014. One of the three officially registered political parties legally existing in ...

(TAP) and the

(TSwTP). Prior to 2008, Turkmenistan was a one-party state under the TDP. The Khalk Maslakhaty ( People's Council) which is considered the ultimate representative body, has more than 2,500 members; it was abolished in late 2008. All legal parties currently support the government.

Presidential elections

Legislative elections

Latest elections

Presidential election

Assembly election

People's Council election

See also

Notes

References

External links