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Tajikistan votes in parliamentary election

The Tajikistanis have gone to the polls in the country’s parliamentary elections, which are expected to extend the rule of incumbent President Emomali Rakhmon’s Democratic People’s Party.

Sunday’s elections come as Rakhmon introduced his own 23-year-old son, Rustam Emomali, as a possible successor.

The Democratic People’s party already holds 57 of the lower house of parliament’s 63 seats, while sidelining long-time rivals the Islamic Renaissance Party.

Rakhmon’s son — a professional footballer with little experience in politics — is running for a seat on Dushanbe’s city council, which is widely considered a possible first step in a succession plan.

“Let us not break the law in today’s election. This is an important political event for Tajikistan’s to promote economic and social life,” Rakhmon said.

“The more transparent and democratic the elections are, the higher Tajikistan’s credibility will be on the world stage,” he added

More than a decade after a devastating five-year civil war, Tajikistan is still struggling to provide basic goods and services to its people, but the governing party has announced plans aimed at increasing economic growth.

Rakhmon, in office since 1992, runs Tajikistan with a heavy hand, and the government is frequently criticized abroad for violating human rights and suppressing the media and opposition.

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