[ad_1]
Posted:
Up to date:
FILE – Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov attends a gathering of Presidents of ex-Soviet nations that are members of the Commonwealth of Impartial States, at Konstantin Palace in Strelna, outdoors St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021. Turkmenistan will maintain snap presidential elections after the nation’s authoritarian chief introduced he is able to relinquish energy to a brand new technology. President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s assertion that the nation ought to be directed by youthful individuals appeared to recommend that his son Serdar would succeed him; the son has risen by means of a collection of more and more distinguished authorities posts and is now the deputy chairman of the Cupboard. (Yevgeny Biyatov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photograph by way of AP, File)
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) — Turkmenistan will maintain snap presidential elections after the nation’s authoritarian chief introduced he is able to relinquish energy to a brand new technology.
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s assertion that the nation ought to be directed by youthful individuals appeared to recommend that his son Serdar would succeed him; the son has risen by means of a collection of more and more distinguished authorities posts and is now the deputy chairman of the Cupboard.
The presidential election is to be held on March 12, the parliament declared on Saturday.
No election in post-Soviet Turkmenistan has been thought-about genuinely aggressive. Whereas eight candidates ran in opposition to Berdymukhamedov within the final election in 2017, all expressed assist for his authorities and Berdymukhamedov tallied greater than 97% of the vote.
Berdymukhamedov got here to energy in 2006 after the loss of life of the eccentric Saparmurat Niyazov and he established a pervasive cult of character much like his predecessor’s. Beneath his rule, the nation has remained troublesome for outsiders to enter and Turkmenistan has not reported any circumstances of an infection within the coronavirus pandemic.
It additionally has struggled to diversify its financial system, which is overwhelmingly depending on its huge pure gasoline reserves.
The 64-year-old Berdymukhamedov cultivates a picture of sturdy and aggressive well being with media stunts that included his firing a pistol at a man-sized goal whereas driving a bicycle and hoisting a gold weightlifting bar, to the applause of his Cupboard.
___
Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this story.
[ad_2]
Source link
