Democratic Party of Turkmenistan

Democratic Party of Turkmenistan
Leader Kasymguly Babaev
Founder Saparmurat Niyazov
Founded 16 December 1991
Headquarters Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Ideology Turkmen nationalism
Secularism
Statism
Authoritarianism
Colors      Green
Mejlis
47 / 125

The Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (DPT) (Turkmen: Türkmenistanyň Demokratik partiýasy) is a 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. In 2013 President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow suspended his party membership for the duration of his presidency.[1] The current leader is Kasymguly Babaev.[2]

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 internal structure of the old party was effectively unchanged in the transition, as was the old guard. The DPT 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. This has been the case even after the formal legalization of opposition parties in 2010.

Chairmen

Name Term start Term end Notes
Saparmurat Niyazov 16 December 1991 21 December 2006 Died in office
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow 21 December 2006 18 August 2013 Acting until 4 August 2007, Resigned
Kasymguly Babaev 18 August 2013 incumbent

Policies

Due to the lack of opposition parties to contest for government, the DPT controls most, if not all, industries of significant revenue directly. Central planning is a key element of party policy and serves as the basis of functionality for government services. The party's ideology "Turkmen nationalism" was theorized by former party leader Saparmurat Niyazov for the purpose of an authoritarian state ideology in Turkmenistan.[3]

Election results

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.

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

  1. ↑ Turkmen president quits top party
  2. ↑ Гурбангулы Бердымухамедов приостановил членство в Демпартии Туркменистана на время своего президентства
  3. ↑ http://www.europeanforum.net/country/turkmenistan retrieved: 12/23/2014

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.