ASHGABAT (TCA) — Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has been re-elected for a third, seven-year term in office by winning 97.69 percent of the vote in the February 12 election, according to preliminary results announced by the country’s Central Election Commission on February 13.
The Commission said the turnout was more than 97 percent of eligible voters.
Berdymukhammedov cast his vote at a school in Ashgabat, accompanied by family members including his son, who was elected to parliament last year, RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service reported.
“If I am elected, then our policies aimed at improving the welfare of the people will continue,” he told reporters.
Berdymukhammedov, who maintains strict control over the Turkmen society, was all but guaranteed to defeat eight other candidates, widely seen as window dressing for the vote.
In power since 2006, Berdymukhammedov was running against little-known regional government officials, lawmakers, and heads of companies on a ballot that included candidates from more than one party for the first time following the recent constitutional amendments.
But no parliamentary or presidential election held in Turkmenistan has been deemed free or fair by international monitors since the country gained independence in 1991. According to official results, Berdymukhammedov won 89 percent of the vote in 2006 and 97 percent in 2012.
The presidential election comes as Turkmenistan’s economy struggles following a steep decline in global energy prices and a severe drop in exports, RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service reports. Many state salaries are not being paid on time and the country also faces a deficit of staples such as cooking oil, flour, and sugar, as well as medicine, leading to price hikes in bazaars. During the election campaign, the government ordered private traders in bazaars to lower food prices, according to merchants and consumers.
