Politics of Tajikistan 30112 210404166 2008-05-05T20:11:50Z The Transhumanist 1754504 remove redundant term, Replaced: [[Plurality voting system|pluriform]] → using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] {{Wikify|date=March 2008}} {{Politics of Tajikistan}} '''Politics of Tajikistan''' takes place in a framework of a [[presidential system|presidential]] [[republic]], whereby the [[President of Tajikistan|President]] is both [[head of state]] and [[head of government]], and of a [[multi-party system]]. [[Legislative power]] is vested in both the [[executive branch]] and the two chambers of parliament. ==Political developments== [[Tajikistan]] gained its independence during the breakup of the [[Soviet Union]] on [[September 9]] [[1991]] and promptly fell into a [[Tajikistan Civil War|civil war]] from [[1992]]&ndash;[[1997]] between old-guard regionally based ruling elites and disenfranchised regions, democratic liberal reformists, and Islamists loosely organized as the [[United Tajik Opposition]]. Other combatants and armed bands that flourished in this civil chaos simply reflected the breakdown of central authority rather than loyalty to a political faction. The height of hostilities occurred between 1992-93. By 1997, the predominantly Kulyabi-led Tajik government and the UTO successfully negotiated a power-sharing peace accord and implemented it by 2000. Tajikistan is slowly rebuilding itself with an integrated government and continues to permit a Russian military presence to guard their border with Afghanistan and the basing of the Russian 201st Motorized Rifle Division that never left Tajikistan when it became independent. Most of these Russian-led forces, however, are local Tajik noncommissioned officers and soldiers. Both Tajikistan's presidential and parliamentary elections, in 1999 and 2000, respectively, were widely considered to be flawed and unfair but peaceful. The inclusion of an Islamist party committed to secular government (Islamic Renaissance Party) and several other parties in the Parliamentary elections represented an improvement in the Tajik people's right to choose their government. Tajikistan is the only Central Asian country in which a religiously affiliated political party is represented in Parliament. President Rahmonov, while no longer specifically obliged--as he was under the peace accords--to allocate one-third of government positions to the UTO, has kept some former UTO officials in senior cabinet-level positions. While the government and the now incorporated former opposition continue to distrust each other, they have often found a way to work with each other and are committed to peacefully resolving their differences. Prior to the overthrow of the [[Taliban]] in [[2001]], the civil war in [[Afghanistan]] produced cross-border effects that threatened to destabilize Tajikistan's fragile and hard-won peace. In the summers of 1999 and 2000, the [[Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan]] used Tajikistan as a staging ground for an insurgency campaign against the government of [[Uzbekistan]]. At the same time, Taliban advances in northern Afghanistan threatened to inundate Tajikistan with thousands of refugees. A constant flow of illegal narcotics continues to transit Tajikistan from Afghanistan on its way to Russian and European markets, leaving widespread violent crime, corruption, increased HIV incidence, and economic distortions in its wake. During 2002, stability in the country continued to increase, and the year was largely free of the assassinations and outbreaks of violence perpetrated by unreformed opposition members that plagued the country in previous years. The government has been criticized for antisemitism. In 2006, the government began demolition of the last remaining synagogue in the country, which was functioning and serving the small Bukaharan Jewish community, as well as their ritual bath, kosher butcher, and classrooms, to make room for a new Presidential residence.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=731 |title=Tajikistan: Demolition of country's only synagogue begins |publisher= |accessdate=2006-11-01 }}</ref> ==[[Executive branch]]== {{office-table}} |[[List of Presidents of Tajikistan|President]] |[[Emomali Rahmonov]] |[[People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan|HDKT]] |[[6 November]] [[1994]] |- |Prime Minister |[[Ogil Oqilov]] |[[People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan|HDKT]] |[[20 January]] [[1999]] |} The president, who is directly elected, is the dominant figure in the government, serving as head of the government, called the Council of Ministers, and as chairman of the parliament (the Supreme Assembly, or Majlisi Oli).<ref name=cp>[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Tajikistan.pdf Tajikistan country profile]. [[Library of Congress]] [[Federal Research Division]] (January 2007). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the [[public domain]].''</ref> The president also appoints the prime minister and all members of the Council of Ministers, with parliamentary approval.<ref name=cp/> Tajikistan held a constitutional referendum on [[22 June]] [[2003]] that, among other things, set a term limit of two seven-year terms for the president.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} In this geographically divided country, the ceremonial position of prime minister traditionally is held by a person from the north to nominally balance President Imomali Rakhmonov’s southern origin.<ref name=cp/> In 2004 the executive branch fell further under the control of the governing party as appointments by Rakhmonov left the opposition with only 5 percent of major government positions.<ref name=cp/> This event followed the expiration of the 1997 peace guarantee that the United Tajik Opposition (UPO) would occupy at least 30 percent of top government positions.<ref name=cp/> Prior to the 2006 election, the Council of Ministers, which executes the decisions of the president, included two deputy prime ministers, 19 ministers, nine committee heads, and several ex officio members.<ref name=cp/> After the election, Rakhmonov abolished 10 ministries and five state committees and reappointed Oqil Oqilov as prime minister.<ref name=cp/> In 2003 a national referendum eliminated the constitutional two-term limitation on the current president, making Rakhmonov eligible to stand for re-election again in 2013.<ref name=cp/> Rakhmonov also has accumulated substantial informal power through patronage.<ref name=cp/> ==[[Legislative branch]]== The [[bicameral]] [[Supreme Assembly of Tajikistan|Supreme Assembly]] (''Majlisi Oli'') includes the 63-seat [[Assembly of Representatives of Tajikistan|Assembly of Representatives]] (''Majlisi Namoyandagon''), which meets year-round, and the 33-seat [[National Assembly of Tajikistan|National Assembly]] (''Majlisi Milli''), which meets at least twice per year.<ref name=cp/> Until 2000 Tajikistan had a unicameral legislature.<ref name=cp/> The members of the Assembly of Representatives are chosen by direct popular election to serve five-year terms.<ref name=cp/> Of the 63 members of the Assembly of Representatives, 22 are elected by party, in proportion to the number of votes received by each party gaining at least 5 percent of total votes, and the remaining members are elected from single-member constituencies.<ref name=cp/> Three-fourths of the National Assembly members are chosen by local council meetings of the four subnational jurisdictions, each of which is entitled to equal representation.<ref name=cp/> The remaining members are appointed directly by the president.<ref name=cp/> The pro-government People’s Democratic Party continued to control both houses of the parliament after the elections of 2005; that party gained 52 of the 63 seats in the Assembly of Representatives.<ref name=cp/> In 2006, 11 women sat in the Assembly of Representatives, and five sat in the National Assembly.<ref name=cp/> Opposition factions in the Supreme Assembly have clashed with pro-government members over some issues.<ref name=cp/> ==[[Judicial branch]]== The constitution provides for an independent judiciary.<ref name=cp/> The Supreme Court is the highest court.<ref name=cp/> Other high courts include the Supreme Economic Court and the Constitutional Court, which decides questions of constitutionality.<ref name=cp/> The president appoints the judges of these three courts, with the approval of the legislature.<ref name=cp/> There is also a Military Court.<ref name=cp/> The judges of all courts are appointed to 10-year terms.<ref name=cp/> Though the judiciary is nominally independent, the executive branch and criminal groups have considerable influence on judicial functions.<ref name=cp/> Bribery of judges, who are poorly paid and poorly trained, is commonplace.<ref name=cp/> The court system has local, district, regional, and national levels, with each higher court serving as an appellate court for the level below.<ref name=cp/> Appeals of court decisions are rare because the populace generally does not trust the judicial system.<ref name=cp/> Constitutional guarantees to the right to an attorney and to a prompt and public trial often are ignored.<ref name=cp/> The Soviet-era presumption of the guilt of the defendant remains in force.<ref name=cp/> The procurator’s office conducts all criminal investigations. Trials are heard by juries except in cases of national security.<ref name=cp/> ==Administrative divisions== Tajikistan is divided into 2 provinces (''viloyatho'', singular - ''viloyat'') and 1 autonomous province* (''viloyati mukhtor''): [[Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon]]* ([[Khorugh]] - formerly Khorog), [[Viloyati Khatlon]] ([[Qurghonteppa]] - formerly Kurgan-Tyube), [[Viloyati Sughd]] ([[Khujand]] - formerly Leninabad) ''Note:'' the administrative center name follows in parentheses ==Provincial and local government== The executive heads of the provinces are appointed by the president.<ref name=cp/> Provincial councils are chosen by direct election.<ref name=cp/> Each province is divided into districts (totaling 13) and towns.<ref name=cp/> Districts are directly subordinate to the central government.<ref name=cp/> Heads of district and town governments are appointed by the president with the approval of district and town councils, which are elected by popular vote.<ref name=cp/> ==Electoral system== {{seealso|Elections in Tajikistan}} Suffrage is universal for citizens 18 years of age and older.<ref name=cp/> A new election law passed in 2004 has received international criticism for its restrictive candidate registration requirements.<ref name=cp/> Election requires an absolute majority of votes; if no candidate gains a majority, a second round is held between the top two vote getters.<ref name=cp/> By controlling the Central Election Commission, the Rakhmonov regime has gained substantial influence over the registration of parties, the holding of referenda, and election procedures.<ref name=cp/> In 1999 and 2003, referenda of dubious fairness made constitutional changes that strengthened Rakhmonov’s hold on power.<ref name=cp/> International observers also found substantial irregularities in the conduct of the 1999 presidential election, in which only one opposition candidate was permitted to register, and the media were censored.<ref name=cp/> Six parties participated in the 2000 and 2005 parliamentary elections, although in both cases observers reported state interference with the process and with opposition candidates’ access to the media.<ref name=cp/> Rakhmonov easily won re-election in November 2006, gaining 79 percent of the vote against four little-known opponents; international monitors again found the election unfair.<ref name=cp/> Three major opposition parties—the Democratic Party, the Islamic Rebirth Party, and the Social Democratic Party—boycotted the election.<ref name=cp/> ===Recent elections=== {{Tajikistan_parliamentary_election,_2005}} {{Tajikistan presidential election, 2006}} ==Political parties== {{seealso|List of political parties in Tajikistan}} In the early 2000s, independent political parties continued to exist, but their operations were circumscribed and their influence marginal.<ref name=cp/> The governing People’s Democratic Party (PDP) gained strength as some opposition party leaders joined the government and others were disqualified from participation in elections.<ref name=cp/> The Communist Party of Tajikistan, a nominal opposition party that has supported President Rakhmonov on most issues, has lost support since 2000.<ref name=cp/> The liberal, pro-market Democratic Party also has lost support.<ref name=cp/> In 1997 Rakhmonov weakened his chief opposition emerging from the civil war, the United Tajik Opposition (UTO), by naming movement leader Akbar Turajonzoda a deputy prime minister.<ref name=cp/> In the ensuing years, the UTO was eclipsed politically by its main component organization, the Islamic Rebirth Party (IRP).<ref name=cp/> In 2003 the IRP lost its chief opposition issue as the ban on religious parties ended.<ref name=cp/> Nevertheless, in 2006 parties still could not receive aid from religious institutions, and tension remained between the government and Islamic factions.<ref name=cp/> In 2006 the IRP was the most influential opposition party in Tajikistan and the only religiously affiliated party represented in the national legislature of a Central Asian country.<ref name=cp/> After the death of long-time IRP leader Said Abdullo Nuri in 2006, a possible split emerged from the struggle for party leadership.<ref name=cp/> Some antigovernment sentiment has been channeled into radical Islamic organizations such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is outlawed as a terrorist organization, rather than into conventional political parties.<ref name=cp/> In 2006 six parties, including one faction of the Democratic Party, were banned, and a total of eight parties were registered.<ref name=cp/> In 2005 Mahmadruzi Iskandarov, head of the Democratic Party, received a long prison term for terrorism after being abducted from exile, and in 2006 his party was replaced on the official list by a government-backed splinter group, Vatan.<ref name=cp/> ==International organization participation== [[Asian Development Bank|AsDB]], [[World Customs Organization|CCC]], [[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]], [[Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council|EAPC]], [[European Bank for Reconstruction and Development|EBRD]], [[United Nations Economic Commission for Europe|ECE]], [[ECO]], [[Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific|ESCAP]], [[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]], [[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development|IBRD]], [[International Civil Aviation Organization|ICAO]], [[International Criminal Court|ICC]], [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|ICRM]], [[International Development Association|IDA]], [[IDB]], [[International Fund for Agricultural Development|IFAD]], [[International Finance Corporation|IFC]], [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|IFRCS]], [[International Labour Organization|ILO]], [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]], [[Intelsat]], [[IOC]], [[International Organization for Migration|IOM]], [[International Telecommunication Union|ITU]], [[Organization of the Islamic Conference|OIC]], [[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons|OPCW]], [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe|OSCE]], [[United Nations|UN]], [[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development|UNCTAD]], [[UNESCO]], [[United Nations Industrial Development Organization|UNIDO]], [[Universal Postal Union|UPU]], [[World Federation of Trade Unions|WFTU]], [[World Health Organization|WHO]], [[World Intellectual Property Organization|WIPO]], [[World Meteorological Organization|WMO]], [[World Trade Organization|WTrO]] (observer) ==Notes== {{Reflist}} [[Category:Politics of Tajikistan| ]] [[fa:وضعیت سیاسی تاجیکستان]] [[lt:Tadžikijos politinė sistema]]