Parliamentary elections were held in

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 s ...

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), 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 profe ...

. 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 the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

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 it has more than ten million members and s ...

, 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 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 ...

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

2013 in Turkmenistan Elections in Turkmenistan

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