A spokesman for the OSCE has said that organization will not
send a delegation to Tajikistan to monitor the 6 November
presidential poll, an RFE/RL correspondent reported on 3
November. The spokesman said that given the restrictions on
candidates and the activities of political parties, the
election process does not meet the standards set by the OSCE
for a democratic poll. Economics and Foreign Economic
Relations Minister Davlat Usmon, whom the Central Electoral
Commission has registered as a candidate, despite his failure
to submit the required 145,000 signatures in his support,
said on 3 November he will not formally withdraw his
candidacy as it is illegal, ITAR-TASS reported. The Central
Electoral Commission has confirmed that Usmon has not
withdrawn from the poll and that his name is on the ballot
sheet together with that of incumbent Imomali Rakhmonov. LF