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Text of report by the Tajik news agency Asia-Plus on 11th October On two consecutive days - 8th and 9th October - meetings were held between the chairman of the Central Election and Referendum Commission, Mirzoali Boltuyev, and presidential candidates Davlat Usmon, Sulton Quvvatov and Sayfiddin Turayev. The sides are continuing to disagree about problems that occurred during the election campaign. The presidential candidates accused the Central Electoral Commission [CEC] of not taking measures against local authorities, who according to them did not allow their initiative groups to collect signatures in their support. They are insisting that an extraordinary session of the Supreme Assembly is convened to reconsider the date for holding the elections. The chairman of the CEC has denied the candidates' assertions that the local authorities obstructed them in their efforts to collect signatures in their support. He called them "insinuations and attacks" and "an illegal form of propaganda pressure aimed at obtaining political dividends, including from a foreign audience". At the same time, Mirzoali Boltuyev noted that "following the principles of trust in all candidates", the CEC agreed to the possibility of preparing and submitting the lists of signatures under a more simplified scheme, and also adopted a decision to render additional and comprehensive assistance to all candidates, and extended to a maximum, i.e. 11th October, the deadline for candidates to submit the necessary documents for registration. The UN secretary-general's special envoy in Tajikistan, Ivo Petrov, the head of the OSCE Mission in Tajikistan, Marin Buhoara, and the representatives of the UN judicial service attended the meetings. Source: Asia-Plus news agency, Dushanbe, in Russian 0919 gmt 11 Oct 99 BBC Mon CAU 121099/** KG/JF/MI |