It’s been awhile since there’s been anything on Tajikistan, and even during the elections there wasn’t much media coverage. As is typical, the CIS election observers said the election was fair while the OSCE said it was not. Well, they still aren’t getting much attention.

Thinking-East.net has it’s newest addition up, with a lot of reporting on opposition protests in Tajikistan, something that is getting absolutely no attention in the media.

According to the Central Elections Committee, more than 80% of the population of Tajikistan participated in the recent parliamentary elections. The dominating president’s People’s Democratic Party received the majority of votes, winning 74.9% or 17 seats; the Communist Party 13.64% or three seats; and the Islamic Renaissance Party 8.9% or two seats. According to overall results, three political parties – the Socialist Party, Democratic Party and Social Democratic Party – could not clear the 5% hurdle necessary to win a parliamentary seat. Because of these statistics, all three parties, as well as the Communists and Islamists, have not recognized the election results, claiming too many violations and too much official control over the electoral process.

Immediately after the election campaign, the five political parties signed a statement to Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov wherein they refused to recognize the election results. The statement explains that the political parties observed numerous instances of violations of Tajikistani constitutional law “On Elections.”

During a press conference, the chairman of Social Democratic Party (SDP) Rahmatullo Zoirov noted that Central Election Committee must consider their protest, otherwise the parties would appeal to the Supreme Court. He also added that all five opposition parties would leave the Public Council, which was formed on the basis of an agreement on Public Consent.

The statement specifically claimed that civilian supporters of the president actively intimidated voters by threatening to start civil war if opposition parties won the elections. High school students were warned of the creation of an Islamic State, where girls would be forbidden to go to schools and required to cover their faces with cloth. In polling stations, bulletins were issued without ID cards, so some people voted enough for several citizens.

The Tajikistani press has been quite silent about the newly formed coalition. According to Zoirov, the independent press refused to publish their statement.

This is just a small bit of the article, make sure to read the entire thing. This is probably the only recent one you will find. However, Eurasianet wrote an article about ten days ago detailing government intimidation and arrests of opposition members to stifle any objections to the election.

Meanwhile, the Social Democrats (SDPT), an opposition party that did not receive sufficient electoral support to win parliament seats, appears to be sticking with plans to stage public protests, provided that the party is not satisfied with the CEC????????s election-complaint conclusions. Many Tajiks, mindful of the trauma inflicted by the 1992-97 civil war, remain concerned that any form of public protest could stoke broader unrest, and are, accordingly, reluctant to participate in demonstrations. “We must demonstrate that there can exist a civilized opposition, capable of holding peaceful demonstrations. That is why the first meeting that we Äthe SPDTÅ would hold would be selective and thoroughly organized,” party leader Rahmatullo Zoirov said at a March 14 news conference.

The SDPT????????s stance appears to be prompting Rahmonov????????s administration to crack down on the party, Zoirov claimed, citing the March 12 “politically motivated” arrests of two party activists ?????? Nizomiddin Begmatov and Nasimjon Shukurov. Both men ran as candidates in the parliamentary election and, when they didn????????t win, they challenged the results. They were taken into custody for making statements that allegedly “insulted the dignity” of authorities. Zoirov went on to claim that the government was planning to take more SDPT members into custody, apparently in an effort to bully the party into abandoning protest plans.

Zoirov added that the arrests of Begmatov and Shukurov “were reminiscent of 1937” ?????? a reference to former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin????????s notorious political purges.

In addition, the SPDT leader accused the government of intimidating mass media outlets, effectively restricting opposition parties???????? ability to communicate policy positions to the Tajik electorate. He said he attempted to distribute a party statement on the conduct of the February 27 election, but none of the 10 newspapers that he approached agreed to publish it. “They refused to publish the statement even when we offered to pay for publication,” Zoirov said.

Total. Media. Blackout.