Democratic Party of Turkmenistan

Ruling party of Turkmenistan since 1991

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Democratic Party of Turkmenistan

Türkmenistanyň Demokratik Partiýasy

Abbreviation| TDP
Leader| Ata Serdarow
Founder| Saparmurat Niyazov
Founded| 16 December 1991; 32 years ago (1991-12-16)
Preceded by| Communist Party of Turkmenistan
Headquarters| Ashgabat
Newspaper| Galkynyş gazeti
Youth wing| Magtymguly Youth Organisation of Turkmenistan[1]
Membership (2019)| 211,000
Ideology| Turkmen nationalism
Social conservatism[2][3]
Colours|  Green
Gold
Slogan| "The state is for the people"
(Turkmen: "Döwlet adam üçindir")
Seats in the Assembly of Turkmenistan|

65 / 125

Website
tdp.gov.tm

* Politics of Turkmenistan
* Political parties
* Elections

The Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (Turkmen: Türkmenistanyň Demokratik Partiýasy; Turkmen pronunciation: [tʏɾkmønʏθːɑnɯŋ dɛmokɾɑtɪk pɑɾtɪjɑθɯ]; TDP) is a political party in Turkmenistan founded in 1991. It has been the ruling party of the country since its foundation.

The party 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.[4] The current leader is Ata Serdarow.[5] The party's rule is described as authoritarian or totalitarian.[6][2][3][7]

## History

[edit]

The DPT was created following the dissolution of the Soviet Union as a successor party to the Communist Party of Turkmenistan. 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 legalisation of opposition parties in 2010.

## Chairmen

[edit]

No. | Picture  | Name

(Birth–Death)

| Took office  | Left office  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|

Chairman
1  |  | Saparmurat Niyazov

(1940–2006)

| 16 December 1991  | 21 December 2006  | Died in office
2  |  | Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow

(born 1957)

| 4 August 2007  | 18 August 2013  | Acting chairman: 21 December 2006 – 4 August 2007
3  | —  | Kasymguly Babaýew

(born 1966)

| 18 August 2013  | 2 April 2018  |
4  | —  | Ata Serdarow

(born 1964)

| 2 April 2018  | Incumbent  |

## Policies

[edit]

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 of "Turkmen nationalism" was theorised by former party leader Saparmurat Niyazov for the purpose of an authoritarian state ideology in Turkmenistan.[8]

## Election results

[edit]

Main article: Elections in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan elects on the national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. Elections in Turkmenistan have been widely criticised for being completely fraudulent and attempting to give an appearance of legitimacy to what is in reality a dictatorship.

### Presidential elections

[edit]

The last presidential election was held in 2022.[9]

Election year  | Candidate  | 1st round  | 2nd round  | Results

|
|
|
|

# Votes  | % Votes  | # Votes  | % Votes
1992 | Saparmurat Niyazov | 1,874,357  | 99.51%  | —  | Won
2007 | Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow | 2,357,120  | 89.23%  | —  | Won
2012 | 2,806,265  | 97.14%  | —  | Won
2017 | 3,090,610  | 97.69%  | —  | Won
2022 | Serdar Berdimuhamedow | 2,452,705  | 72.97%  | —  | Won

### Legislative elections

[edit]

The Assembly is a 125-member legislative body officially led by the president of Turkmenistan. The DPT, not unlike every other facet of political life in Turkmenistan, holds a majority of seats, with accusations that the multi-party system established in the early 2010s only consists of bloc parties, nominally independent but loyal to the DPT. The last election for the assembly was held in 2023.

Election  | Leader  | Votes  | %  | Seats  | +/–  | Position  | Government

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1994 | Saparmurat Niyazov | 2,008,701  | 100%  |

50 / 50

| New  |  1st  | Sole legal party
1999 | 2,224,537  | 100%  |

50 / 50

|  0  |  1st  | Sole legal party
2004 | 1,915,000  | 100%  |

50 / 50

|  0  |  1st  | Sole legal party
2008 | Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow | 2,594,658  | 100%  |

125 / 125

|  75  |  1st  | Sole legal party
2013 | Kasymguly Babaýew |  | 37.6%  |

47 / 125

|  78  |  1st  | Coalition
2018 |  |  |

55 / 125

|  8  |  1st  | Coalition
2023 | Ata Serdarow |  |  |

65 / 125

|  10  |  1st  | Majority

## See also

[edit]

* Elections in Turkmenistan
* People's Council of Turkmenistan
* Assembly of Turkmenistan
* Politics of Turkmenistan

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "VI Congress of Magtymguly Youth Organization of Turkmenistan in Ashgabat". tdh.gov.tm. Turkmenistan Today, Government of Turkmenistan. Archived from the original on 30 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
2. ^ a b Anderson, John (1995). "Authoritarian political development in Central Asia: The case of Turkmenistan". Central Asian Survey. 14 (4): 509–527. doi:10.1080/02634939508400922.
3. ^ a b Elena, Dmitrieva (2019). "Political elite of Turkmenistan. Post-Soviet period". Russia and the moslem world. pp. 49–58. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
4. ^ "Turkmen president quits top party". The Japan Times. 18 August 2013. Archived from the original on 10 October 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
5. ^ "Chairman of Turkmenistan's Democratic Party elected". Trend News Agency. 3 April 2018.
6. ^ "Turkmenistan". freedomhouse.org. Freedom House. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
7. ^ Al-Bassam, Kareem (1997). The Evolution of Authoritarianism in Turkmenistan. Demokratizatsiya. p. 387,394,400. S2CID 36015864.
8. ^ "European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity". europeanforum.net. Archived from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
9. ^ "Turkmenistan leader's son wins presidential election". AP NEWS. Associated Press. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.

### Sources

[edit]

* Country Studies accessed on 31 July 2008
* Badykova, Najia (2004-06-18). "The Turkmen Economy: Challenges and Opportunities". St Antony's College, University of Oxford. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
* BBC: Turkmenistan's 'sham poll' closes. Sunday, 19 December 2004, 17:22 GMT

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Political parties in Turkmenistan

Parliament of Turkmenistan|

* Democratic Party of Turkmenistan
* Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan
* Agrarian Party of Turkmenistan

Extraparliamentary legal parties/organizations|

* Organisation of Trade Unions of Turkmenistan
* Women's Union of Turkmenistan
* Magtymguly Youth Organisation of Turkmenistan

Banned and historical parties|

* Communist Party of Turkmenistan
* Communist Party of Turkmenistan (1998)
* Republican Party of Turkmenistan
* «Agzybirlik» Movement
* Turkmen Union of Democratic Forces
* The Turkmen socio-political movement «Vatan»
* Turkmen Movement «Revival»
* People's Democratic Movement of Turkmenistan
* The Liberal Democratic Party of Turkmenistan
* Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights
* Shurai Ulema
* Shurai Islam

* Portal:Politics
* List of political parties
* Politics of Turkmenistan

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

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