Turkmenistan to hold early presidential election on March 12

Turkmenistan’s President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov speaks at a information briefing in Tbilisi, Georgia, July 2, 2015. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili

ASHGABAT, Feb 12 (Reuters) – Turkmenistan will maintain an early presidential election on March 12, a Central Election Fee official instructed Reuters on Saturday, after President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov hinted he deliberate to resign.

Berdymukhamedov, 64, has run the gas-rich Central Asian nation since 2006 with sweeping powers and no efficient opposition. His 40-year-old son Serdar, a deputy prime minister, is seen as a possible successor.

Berdymukhamedov, whose present time period was set to finish in 2024, can be the prime minister of the previous Soviet republic and the speaker of the higher home of parliament.

In a speech to the higher home late on Friday, Berdymukhamedov stated he had made “a troublesome determination” and determined that it was time to present technique to “younger leaders” within the working of the state.

A sequence of promotions given to his son Serdar – who has served as a diplomat, member of parliament, minister and a provincial governor – has prompted hypothesis that the president was grooming him as a successor.

Often known as a fan of native Alabai canine and Akhal-Teke horses to which he has devoted state holidays and erected monuments, Berdymukhamedov is usually known as Arkadag (Protector) by the media within the former Soviet republic which borders Afghanistan and exports gasoline to China and Russia.

Reporting by Marat Gurt
Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Modifying by Kirsten Donovan

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