After a month, the people of Turkmenistan, most likely, will elect a new president. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who headed the country for 15 years, announced that he "wants to give way to the young." The most likely successor is considered to be his own son, Serdar Berdimuhamedov. According to political analysts, Arkadag decided to conduct a controlled transition of power in order to avoid the situations that have recently occurred in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov (who bears the official title Arkadag - "patron") said that two years ago he reached the age of the prophet - 63 years old, and therefore intends to give up his post to the "young generation". At the same time, he retains the post of chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty (upper house of parliament) of the country.
“I support the idea that the road to public administration at a new stage in the development of our country should be given to young leaders who have been brought up in a spiritual environment and in accordance with the high requirements of our time. I, as the chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty, intend to further direct my vast life and political experience to this area,” the State News Agency of Turkmenistan quoted Arkadag as saying.
Berdimuhamedov said that the people of the country elected him to the highest state post three times (in 2007, 2012 and 2017 - approx.), thus expressing "tremendous confidence." “For 15 years now I have been working in the highest and very responsible position of the President of Turkmenistan. At the same time, I am acting as Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Chairman of the State Security Council, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty Milli Gengesh,” he recalled.
In the 2007 elections, according to the country's Central Election Commission, 97% of voters voted for Berdymukhammedov. The turnout was declared at the level of 97.27%.
Back to news | They are scheduled for March 12th.
According to the law, elections were to be held in 2024 - the president in Turkmenistan is elected for a seven-year term. A candidate for the post of head of state may be a citizen of Turkmenistan who was born in the country, is not younger than 40 years old, speaks the state language and has permanently resided in the territory of the state for the previous 15 years.
Exactly a year ago, Berdymukhammedov appointed his only son, Serdar, 39, as deputy prime minister, confirming rumors that Arkadag hopes to hand over power to an heir. Previously, Berdimuhamedov Jr. served as Minister of Industry and Construction Production. He is a graduate of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, and for several years after graduation he worked in Geneva as an adviser to the Permanent Mission of Turkmenistan to the UN Office. Later he was a member of the Mejlis. In the fall of 2017, the president awarded his son with a medal to them. Myalikglu Berdimuhamedov (grandfather Serdar) for services to the fatherland.
“According to rumors, Berdymukhammedov has health problems. It was unexpected for everyone when in 2016 the President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov died, and the transit of power took place without his participation, and what we observed in January 2022 in Kazakhstan became a motivating factor for Berdimuhamedov so that the transit of power could be controlled, as long as he has the strength to do so,” Temur Umarov, a research fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center, explains the president’s decision to leave ahead of schedule.
In his opinion, Serdar Berdimuhamedov is so far the only possible presidential candidate. “The son has appeared in the news, apparently more than before. And this was one of the main signs that he is seen as the next president, ”the political scientist sums up.
The head of the Turkmen service of Radio Liberty (the organization is included by the Ministry of Justice in the list of foreign agents) (in Russia it is recognized as a foreign agent by the media - approx.) Farrukh Yusupov notes that Berdimuhamedov Jr. is already being organized trips to the regions as a successor. “There are signs that a power transition is taking place. But it has long been expected that Berdymukhammedov will nevertheless take some decisive step and mark his son's place in the power hierarchy. That he will give him not a second role, but the first - which will be equivalent to the level that he himself occupies, ”says the journalist.
According to the media, the president’s favorite is not the son Serdar, but the grandson Kerim, and it is him that the current president would like to see as the successor to the dynasty. Now Kerim is studying abroad and there is still a lot of time before the presidential age limit of 40 years.Berdymukhammedov often appears in public with his grandson: together they visit polling stations, ride horses and rap. As a child, Kerim performed an ode to Turkmenistan at his grandfather's birthday party along with Jennifer Lopez and Philip Kirkorov. “We are proud of you, our beloved homeland! You have become so wonderful with our protector, ”the boy sang. Later, he began to write music based on Berdimuhamedov's poems. In 2017, the President of Turkmenistan and his grandson sang the song "I Remember", and a year later - "Sports Uzbekistan". Last year, the grandfather and grandson presented the composition "My white city - Ashgabat". The politician wrote the poem "inspired by the birth of a foal named Ashgabat."
H4 "Death Haramdagu" / h4 The former dentist Berdimuhamedov headed Turkmenistan in 2007 after the death of the first president of the country of Saparmurat Niyazov (wearing the title "Turkmenbashi", "head of Turkmen"). First of all, he repressed the ruling elite and set about debunking the personality cult of the former head. The gilded monument to the leader was moved from the center of Ashgabat to the outskirts, and the compulsory study of Niyazov's book "Rukhnama" ("Book of the Soul"), which forms the basis of the Turkmen ideology as presented by the politician, was removed from the school curriculum. Later, Berdymukhammedov wrote his own series of books about horses, music, local cuisine, tea, carpets and other essentials of life in Turkmenistan. In 2015, the equestrian monument "Arkadag" by sculptor Saragt Babayev appeared on Bagtyyarlyk Avenue, and images of Berdimuhamedov were placed on thousands of posters and banners.
In parallel with the formation of the cult of personality of the second president, popular discontent grew, and in recent years, Berdymukhammedov has increasingly become the object of ridicule. On the Web, they made fun of his attempts to do Nordic walking, drift in a sports BMW and ride a horse in the center of Ashgabat.
At the same time, the food crisis continues in the country, and socio-economic tension is growing. Stores previously subsidized by the state have seen food prices skyrocket. Several outlets sell two types of bread - an expensive one at 2.5 manats ($0.72), which is always in stock, and a cheap one at 0.6 manats ($0.17), for which queues line up. No more than two loaves are sold in one hand. Prices for hitherto subsidized sugar and vegetable oil soared to market levels.
On banknotes, the inhabitants of the country began to leave the inscriptions “Kharamdag” or “Death to Haramdag”. The word "Haramdag" consists of the root "haram" (sin) and the ending, consonant with the title of the leader "Arkadag".
The number of such marked banknotes is growing, the portal turkmen.news wrote.
The day before, the British research center Economist Group Unit published the annual Democracy Index. Turkmenistan scored the lowest score in the last 15 years and was in 161st place out of 167, ahead of only Afghanistan, Myanmar, North Korea, Congo, Central African Republic and Syria. The compilers of the rating gave the country 0 points in terms of the “Electoral process and pluralism” indicator, and 0.29 points in terms of “Civil liberties”.
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