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Elections in Turkmenistan

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Politics of Turkmenistan
Constitution People's Council Chairperson: Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow President Serdar Berdimuhamedow Cabinet Assembly Speaker: Dünýägözel Gulmanowa State Security Council Political parties Agrarian Party Democratic Party Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Recent elections Presidential: 2012 2017 2022 Parliamentary: 2018 2021 2023 Administrative divisions Region Districts Cities Foreign relations Visa policy Human rights Ruhnama
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Turkmenistan elects on national level a head of state — the president — and a legislature. The elections in Turkmenistan since its split from the Soviet Union have been widely criticized for being neither free nor fair and attempting to give an appearance of legitimacy to what is in reality a dictatorship.^[1] The parties of Turkmenistan are the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, the Agrarian Party of Turkmenistan, and the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. The president has a seven-year term, while the legislature has a five-year term.^[2]

After declaring independence from the Soviet Union, the president was set to be elected for a five-year term by the people. President Saparmurat Niyazov, was elected unopposed on 21 June 1992. In a referendum in January 1994, it was decided that he would be president for eight more years. In 1999, the country's parliament named him president for life. He died on 21 December 2006. An election to replace him was held on 11 February 2007, which was won by ruling party candidate Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.

Turkmenistan elects a legislature on a national level. The Assembly (Mejlis) has 125 members, elected for a five-year term in single seat constituencies. Political parties are the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (TDP), the Agrarian Party of Turkmenistan (TAP) and the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (TSwTP). Prior to 2008, Turkmenistan was a one-party state under the TDP. The Khalk Maslakhaty (People's Council) which is considered the ultimate representative body, has more than 2,500 members; it was abolished in late 2008.^[3] All legal parties currently support the government.

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.^[4] Turnout was reported at 97% according to the Central Election Committee.^[5]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Democratic Party of Turkmenistan			65	+10
	Agrarian Party of Turkmenistan			24	+13
	Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs			18	+7
	Independents			18	–30
Total				125	0
Total votes		3,185,935	–
Registered voters/turnout		3,496,304	91.12
Source: CEC (turnout),[6] Turkmen Portal (seat distribution)[7]

Ballots were counted, and results declared the next morning.^[8] The following candidates were elected:^[8][a]

Twenty-seven percent of the winning candidates were women.^[9] Berdimuhamedow was alleged to have received 100% of the vote.^[10][8]

• Electoral calendar
• Electoral system

• Turkmens "vote"
• Adam Carr's Election Archive

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