Turkmenistan Presidential Election 2012
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The 2012 Turkmenistan presidential election was held on February 12, 2012 in the Republic of Turkmenistan . As expected , incumbent Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow was able to assert himself clearly in the authoritarian- led country and thus win a second, five-year term in office.
Electoral system
The presidential election in Turkmenistan will be conducted in the form of a nationwide majority vote . A candidate needs an absolute majority of at least 50% of the votes cast in order to be allowed to move into the office of President. If none of the candidates succeeds, a run-off election between the two most successful candidates in the first ballot is planned within two weeks of the first ballot. The right to vote was for Turkmen citizens who were at least 18 years of age at the time of the election, including prisoners and people with a mental disorder . Requirements for candidates were between 40 and 70 years of age, proof of permanent residence in Turkmenistan for a period of at least 15 years and previous employment in the public service or state-owned companies or organizations. The nomination of candidates could firstly be decided by a political party at a party congress. Second, registered public associations and organizations could nominate candidates and thirdly, groups of voters had the right to propose a joint candidate who had to show at least 10,000 signatures from supporters.
background
In August 2011, the Turkmen parliament scheduled the presidential election for February 12, 2012. The second president in the history of the independent state of Turkmenistan, Berdimuhamedov , managed to consolidate his power and become the new head of state during his first term in office, which began with the presidential election in Turkmenistan in 2007 after the death of long-time president Saparmyrat Nyýazow establish. Due to this consolidated position of power, all experts and observers assumed that Berdimuhamedov would win the election. The president's announcements that he would initiate reforms and a process of democratization found little political expression in the form of concrete measures. Some cosmetic changes to the electoral law were praised by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) , among others , but had no significant impact on the situation in Turkmenistan. The opportunities for participation were severely limited by the political climate in Turkmenistan. Fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of assembly were de facto not given, opposition members were suppressed and acted almost exclusively from abroad. The only party in the country at the time of the election was the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan , so that it also had a great influence on the list of candidates for the presidential election. The support of the president by state authorities and the media contributed to his dominant position.
Parties and candidates
Before the election, a field of candidates was formed from a total of eight applicants, including Berdimuhamedow. The number of applicants was the largest in Turkmenistan's history and the 2012 election was only the second presidential election in Turkmenistan with more than one candidate. All of the opponents of Berdimuhamedov were members of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan and supported the president and his political course. The increase in the number of applicants therefore did not correspond to an increase in democracy or pluralism . The candidates in the presidential election were:
- Incumbent Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
- Rejep Bazarow, deputy governor of Daşoguz welaýaty
- Kakageldi Abdullaýew, Governor of the Türkmenbaşy District
- Gurbanmämmet Mollaniýazow, manager of the state oil company Türkmennebit
- Annageldi Orazberdiýewiç Ýazmyradow, Minister for Water
- Esendurdy Gaýypow, head of the production company in Lebap welaýaty
- Saparmyrat Batyrov, head of a textile factory
- Ýarmuhammet Orazgulyýew, Deputy Minister for Energy and Industry
Election campaign
Due to the homogeneous field of applicants and the low level of awareness of the candidates, the conditions for a democratic election campaign were not met. Larger political events and gatherings were not possible due to legal restrictions, so that the election campaign was limited to centrally organized events with one of the candidates and a group of voters in closed rooms. Debates or controversies did not arise in the run-up to the election; overall, the election campaign was not visible to the public and was hardly noticed. Since all candidates expressed their support for the incumbent Berdimuhamedow, the outcome of the election could be foreseen well before election day.
Result
On February 17, 2012, the Central Election Commission announced the result of the election. According to this, the voter turnout was 96.7%, in absolute numbers 2,888,887 Turkmens had cast their votes. President Berdimuhamedow was confirmed in office with 97.14% of the votes cast. From the remaining field of applicants, Water Minister Annageldi Orazberdiýewiç Ýazmyradow achieved the best result with 1.07% of the votes cast. With the announcement of the results, the Central Election Commission confirmed the re-election of the President, who was thereby legitimized for a further five-year term until 2017.
rating
Foreign observers and the Turkmen opposition in exile described the election as undemocratic and criticized massive violations of fundamental rights and election manipulation. In view of the apparent democratic deficits, the OSCE did not send an observer mission to Turkmenistan on election day, only a needs assessment mission prior to the election. The latter praised individual further developments of the electoral law and the organization of the election, but came to the judgment that, due to fundamental deficiencies in the development of a democracy in Turkmenistan, sending a full-fledged observation mission would not be expedient. The Commonwealth of Independent States, however, sent such an observer mission. This came to the conclusion that the election in Turkmenistan had generally adhered to democratic standards. Accordingly, individual irregularities had not seriously influenced the election process. After the election, election winner Berdimuhamedow thanked all Turkmen citizens who had cast their vote. He assessed his clear victory as the result of his previous administration. For the future, he announced that the rights and freedoms of Turkmen citizens would be safeguarded in accordance with the country's constitution, the development of a multi-party system and the continuation of Turkmenistan's neutrality- minded foreign policy.
Individual evidence
- ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR NEEDS ASSESSMENT MISSION REPORT . 1st edition. Warsaw January 3, 2012, p. 6-7 .
- ↑ Turkmenistan Sets Election Date. Retrieved May 23, 2020 (English).
- ^ A b Joshua Foust: Inside Turkmenistan's Surreal Presidential Election. January 7, 2012, accessed May 23, 2020 (American English).
- ↑ Turkmen Presidential Nominations Made. Retrieved May 23, 2020 (English).
- ↑ a b Berdymukhamedov's election promises market development. Retrieved May 23, 2020 .
- ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR NEEDS ASSESSMENT MISSION REPORT . 1st edition. Warsaw January 3, 2012, p. 2 .
- ↑ OSCE Won't Monitor Turkmen Vote. Retrieved May 23, 2020 (English).
- ↑ Associated Press: Turkmenistan president wins re-election with 97% of vote. February 13, 2012, accessed May 24, 2020 .
