| |||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 97.17% [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Early presidential elections were held in Turkmenistan on 12 March 2022. [2] The elections were called after incumbent president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow announced his intention to resign.
The Democratic Party, which has ruled the country since independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, chose Berdimuhamedow's son Serdar as its candidate. Serdar Berdimuhamedow was subsequently elected with 73% of the vote. However, the elections were seen by many international observers as neither free nor fair. [3] [4]
No prior elections in Turkmenistan have been free and fair and the 2022 elections took place in an authoritarian context. [5] [6] [7] The country has been described as a totalitarian dictatorship under the rule of Saparmurat Niyazov and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. [8] The Democratic Party of Turkmenistan is seen as the only legitimate force, with other parties having been founded after 2012 in order to give the appearance of a multi-party system. [9] All legal parties currently support the government. [10]
In 2016, the constitution was amended to extend the term of presidents from five to seven years and to eliminate the age-limit of 70. This was seen as an effort to allow the incumbent Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow to stay in office. [11] Despite this, he signaled his resignation just five years into his seven-year term. On 12 February 2022, the Mejlis passed a resolution scheduling the election for 12 March in accordance with article 81 of the constitution. The son of the former president, Serdar Berdimuhamedow, was widely seen as the successor to his father. [12]
The President of Turkmenistan is elected using the two-round system [13] for a seven-year term. [14] The minimum age for a candidate is 40. [15]
Image | Name [16] [17] | Party | Primary | Declaration | Note | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Serdar Berdimuhamedow | TDP | — | 14 February 2022 | A congress of the ruling Democratic Party of Turkmenistan nominated Serdar Berdimuhamedow as its candidate on 14 February 2022 [18] | ||
Agajan Bekmyradow | TAP | — | 16 February 2022 | A congress of the Agrarian Party of Turkmenistan nominated Agadzhan Bekmyradov as its candidate on 16 February 2022 [19] | ||
Perhat Begenjow | TDP [20] | — | 20 February 2022 | Nominated by the initiative group of the Lebap Region [21] | ||
Berdimämmet Gurbanow | Independent | — | 20 February 2022 | Nominated by the initiative group of the Balkan Region [21] | ||
Babamyrat Meredow | TSTP | — | 21 February 2022 | The Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan nominated Babamurat Meredov as its candidate on 21 February 2022 [22] | ||
Maksatmyrat Öwezgeldiýew | Independent | — | 21 February 2022 | Nominated by the initiative group of the Ahal Region [23] | ||
Kakageldi Saryýew | Independent | — | 21 February 2022 | Nominated by the initiative group of the Mary Region [23] | ||
Maksat Ödeşow | TDP [20] | — | 22 February 2022 | Nominated by the initiative group of the Daşoguz Region [24] | ||
Hydyr Nunnaýew | Independent | — | 22 February 2022 | Nominated by the initiative group of Ashgabat city [24] |
The campaign stage began on 21 February. [25] In accordance with Article 51 of the Electoral Code of Turkmenistan, candidates from the moment of their registration have equal rights to speak at pre-election meetings, campaign meetings, and in the media. Bodies of state power and local self-government, officials of institutions, organizations and enterprises are obligated to assist candidates in obtaining the necessary information related to elections. [26]
According to Article 52 of the Electoral Code of Turkmenistan, each candidate for the President of Turkmenistan can have up to three proxies in each etrap and each city with the rights of an etrap. [26] Candidate meetings throughout the territory of Turkmenistan are held with broad participation of the public, representatives of labor collectives of enterprises and organizations, honorary elders and youth. [27] [28] [29]
On 28 February 2022, an observer mission from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) arrived in Turkmenistan. [30] [31] Early voting began on 2 March, where a total of 41 polling stations were opened in 30 countries. [32] [33] Turnout to the election was reported at 97%, according to the Central Election Committee. [34]
The Central Election Committee reported on 15 March that Serdar Berdimuhamedow won the election with 72.97% of the vote. University official Hydyr Nunnaýew came in second place with 11.09%. Unlike in prior elections, the preliminary results were not available on the day after the election. Berdimuhamedow received the lowest number of votes out of any winning candidate in all Turkmen presidential elections. [35]
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Serdar Berdimuhamedow | Democratic Party of Turkmenistan | 2,452,705 | 72.97 | |
Hydyr Nunnaýew | Independent | 372,525 | 11.08 | |
Agajan Bekmyradow | Agrarian Party of Turkmenistan | 242,685 | 7.22 | |
Berdimämmet Gurbanow | Independent | 74,690 | 2.22 | |
Perhat Begenjow | Democratic Party of Turkmenistan | 67,770 | 2.02 | |
Maksatmyrat Öwezgeldiýew | Independent | 38,881 | 1.16 | |
Maksat Ödeşow | Democratic Party of Turkmenistan | 38,801 | 1.15 | |
Kakageldi Saryýew | Independent | 36,568 | 1.09 | |
Babamyrat Meredow | Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan | 36,412 | 1.08 | |
Total | 3,361,037 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 3,361,037 | 99.97 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 1,015 | 0.03 | ||
Total votes | 3,362,052 | 100.00 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 3,460,080 | 97.17 | ||
Source: Watan |
General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping sent a message of congratulations to Serdar Berdimuhamedow after the results were announced. [36] Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly extended his congratulations in a phone call with both Gurbanguly and Serdar Berdimuhamedow. [37] The Organization of Turkic States congratulated him via Twitter. [38]
OJSC Turkmenistan Airlines is the flag carrier and only airline of Turkmenistan, headquartered in Ashgabat. It operates domestic and international passenger and cargo services mainly from its hub at Ashgabat International Airport.
The Turkmenistan national football team represents Turkmenistan in men's international football. It is controlled by the Football Federation of Turkmenistan, the governing body for football in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan's home ground is the Kopetdag Stadium and their head coach is Mergen Orazow. The team represents FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Ahal Änew Football Club, or simply Ahal FK, is a Turkmen professional football club based in the Änew, Ahal Province. Founded in 1989, the club played its first-ever top flight season in 1992. The club plays its home matches at the 20,000 seater Ashgabat Stadium.
Bäherden, formerly Baharly (2003-2018), is a city and the seat of Baherden District, Ahal Province, Turkmenistan. It lies on the northern rim of the Kopet Dag mountain range, south-east of the resort village of Archman.
Garabekewül District is a former district of Lebap Province in Turkmenistan. The administrative center of the district was the town of Garabekewül. It is now part of Halaç District, which annexed it on 25 November 2017 by Parliamentary Resolution No. 679-V.
Arslanmyrat Amanmyradowiç Amanow is a Turkmen professional footballer who plays as a winger for and captains both Ýokary Liga club Arkadag and the Turkmenistan national team. He represented the nation at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
Türkmenbaşy International Airport, formerly Krasnovodsk Airport, is an international airport located in the city of Türkmenbaşy, Turkmenistan. It accepts both passenger and cargo flights. It opened in 1959 and is one of the five international airports in Turkmenistan.
Open joint-stock company Deryayollary is a state-owned operator of waterways and river-ports in Turkmenistan. The company operates 1,013 km (629 mi) of river-ways on Amu Darya and Karakum Canal. The company belongs to the Turkmendenizderyayollary Agency. Operator based in Turkmenabat.
The Ashgabat Monorail is a monorail line on the Olympic Village in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Construction started in 2012, by Turkish construction company Polimeks and completed in 2016. It uses a 25-meter rolling stock by Intamin.
The Turkmen Independence Day Parade is one of the main events celebrating the Independence of Turkmenistan from the Soviet Union in 1991. Independence Day is the main holiday of Turkmenistan. The parade is held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan every year and is the largest and most frequent military parade in Central Asia.
Mamajan Gulyýewa, also known as Maýa Gulyýewa, was a Soviet and Turkmen soprano opera singer and actress.
Guychmyrat Dovletgeldiyevich Annaguliyev or Güýçmyrat Döwletgeldiýewiç Annagulyýew is a Turkmen professional footballer who plays as defender for Turkmen club FK Arkadag and the Turkmenistan national team.
The 2019 Turkmenistan Higher League season was the 27th season Turkmenistan's professional football league, the highest football league competition in Turkmenistan. Altyn Asyr defended their championship, winning the Higher League for a six time.
The Armed Forces of Turkmenistan currently funds 2 high ranking educational institutions: The Military Academy of Turkmenistan and the Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense of Turkmenistan. Aside from those two schools, there are several military schools around the country, specializing in the training of personnel of a branches of service. In the early 1990s when the armed forces were rapidly being developed, many officers were trained in the Russian Federation's Ministry of Defense, while at least 300 officers were sent to schools in Turkey. On 3 October 1992, the Turkmen State University created the first Turkmen educational department. This article lists institutions of the Turkmen Armed Forces based on its respective agency and service branch.
Abdy Azimovich Bashimov is a Turkmen footballer currently playing for FK Arkadag in Ýokary Liga. He was part of the Turkmenistan national team from 2019.
Abdylla Gurbannepesov is a Turkmen professional futsal and former soccer player. He is currently a member of Migrasiya futsal club in the Turkmenistan Futsal League. Captain of Turkmenistan national futsal team.
Turkmenistan is the only remaining sovereign country in the world that has not reported any cases of COVID-19. There were no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Turkmenistan, with the totalitarian government being proactive in censoring relevant information. It is however suspected to have spread in the country unreported; specifics are difficult to ascertain and confirm in absence of independent media.
Aleksandr Yevgenyevich Klimenko is a Turkmen former professional footballer and who is currently the football manager of the Şagadam FK. Honoured Coach of Turkmenistan.
The Special Task Force Türkmen Edermen is a military unit of the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan. It is a composite unit drawn from the armed forces and national law enforcement agencies such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Border Service, and the Ministry for National Security. It primarily has a special operations role during war time situations. The main distinguishing feature of the battalion is high level of combat, theoretical and physical training.
Events in the year 2020 in Turkmenistan. Unlike other countries in 2020, Turkmenistan has not significantly been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 24 April 2020, Turkmenistan has still not had any reported cases of COVID-19. However, many experts claim that the virus may be spreading in the country unreported, due to the government's control on information about the virus.
As Organization of @Turkic_States, we congratulate #SerdarBerdimuhamedov, who is elected as the new President of #Turkmenistan by winning elections held on March 12, 2022 with 72.97% of votes and wish success in his work for the welfare and development of brotherly #Turkmenistan.