Democratic Party of Turkmenistan

Democratic Party of Turkmenistan Türkmenistanyň Demokratik partiýasy
Leader	Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
Founded	1991

The Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (Turkmen: Türkmenistanyň Demokratik partiýasy) is the only political party in Turkmenistan. The DPT was led by former Soviet provincial Party leader Saparmurat Niyazov from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s until his death in 2006. Its current leader is President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.

History

The DPT was created following the dissolution of the Soviet Union as a successor party to the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR. The institutions and principles of the old party were effectively unchanged in the transition, as was the old guard. The DTP has faced limited and sporadic challenges from alternative political parties in the past but have never faced a significant challenge during an election because of the often repressive nature of politics in the country. Opposition parties are usually crushed before they make any significant grounds in public opinion.

Policies

Due to the lack of opposition parties to contest for government, the DTP controls most, if not all, industries of significant revenue directly. Central planning is a key element party policy and serves as the basis of functionality for government services.

Election results

Main article: Elections in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The Elections in Turkmenistan have been widely criticized for being completely fraudulent and attempting to give an appearance of legitimacy to what is in reality a dictatorship. The only legal party is the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan.

People's Council

The DTP currently holds all 2507 seats in the country's highest legislative body. The last elections held for its office were in December 2007. Due to the fact that accurate numbers of voter turnout do not exist for this election, an accurate estimate of the DTP's popularity cannot be given.

Assembly of Turkmenistan

The Assembly is a 50 member legislative body officially led by the President of Turkmenistan. The DPT, not unlike every other facet of political life in Turkmenistan, holds every seat. The last election for the assembly was held in December 2004 where the DPT received 100% of the votes cast of an estimated voter turnout of 76.9%

Ashgabat assembly building, where the Assembly of Turkmenistan is housed.

References

Country Studies [1] accessed on July 31, 2008

Badykova, Najia (2004-06-18). "The Turkmen Economy: Challenges and Opportunities". St Antony's College, University of Oxford. Retrieved on July 31, 2008.

BBC [2]

See also

• Elections in Turkmenistan
• People's Council of Turkmenistan
• Assembly of Turkmenistan
• Politics of Turkmenistan