Turkmenistan has Opened Door for President to Remain in Office for Life
ICC NOTE: In what can only be seen as a continuing trend for Central Asian countries, the President of Turkmenistan has signed new sweeping amendments from the rubber stamp parliament to extend both presidential terms and the age for potential candidates. The move essential ensures Turkmen President will remain so for life. Lowering the age as well for those who can run for office has also opened the opportunity for office to his son. These moves have been seen in Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, with Uzbekistan experiencing a pseudo shift in power and Azerbaijan on the verge of passing similar amendments. Each country has a history of religious persecution and most of the Central Asian countries maintain the Soviet paranoia towards religion regardless of belief.
9/14/2016 Turkmenistan (Radio Free Europe) – Turkmenistan’s authoritarian leader has paved the way for potential lifelong rule, signing off on constitutional amendments that will allow him to run in future presidential elections regardless of his age.
The amendments, signed by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov after approval by the rubber-stamp parliament and the Council of Elders on September 14, scrap a rule that barred anyone over the age of 70 from presidential ballots in the tightly controlled Central Asian country.
They also extend future presidential terms to seven years from the current five.
Gas-rich Turkmenistan is one of the most isolated countries in the world and has never held an election that was deemed fair and democratic by monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Rights groups say dissent is not tolerated, government critics are routinely jailed or placed in psychiatric hospitals, and the country has no independent media.
The 70-year age ceiling was the only legal obstacle preventing Berdymukhammedov, 59, from running for office as long as he lives. The former Soviet republic’s constitution places no limit on the number of terms he can serve.
A dentist by training and a former deputy prime minister, Berdymukhammedov was appointed president by Turkmenistan’s security council in an opaque process following the death of eccentric autocrat Saparmurat Niyazov in December 2006. He is now serving his second term and is all but certain to win by a landslide if he runs, as expected, in the next presidential vote in 2017.