Turkmenistan’s leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, has tried to give the Central Asian country a modern gloss by touting the Internet’s ability to make life simpler. The initiative, however, has become the butt of jokes and derision among Ashgabat residents.
Boasting of Turkmenistan’s attempts to increase its presence in the international arena, following years of isolation under past dictator Saparmurat Niyazov, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Rashid Meredov, enumerated the number of high level inter
This election year, Americans are reminded and fatigued at how the campaign season drives rifts between various groups in the country. Wouldn’t you love instead to live in a nation where the President is so universally beloved, he is elected with a 97 percent majority? How about a country that celebrates an annual “Week of Happiness” to foster good health and high spirits?
There’s a Stalinist-era anecdote that can apply to Turkmenistan today. The story goes that during the collectivization drive in the 1930s, an apparatchik in the Far East sent a telegram to his superiors: “The collective farms have been created; dispatch the collective farmers.”
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has won a new five-year term in office following a landslide election victory.
The Central Election Commission declared Berdymukhammedov the victor of the February 12 election, saying he captured more than 97 percent of the vote. Officials said more than 96 percent of registered voters cast ballots.
A theme song for Turkmenistan’s presidential election on February 12 could be Aretha Franklin’s classic “Who’s Zoomin’ Who.” On the surface, the election offers citizens a choice of eight candidates, including the incumbent, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.
Turkmenistan's Council of Elders plans to bestow on President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov the formal title "Arkadag," meaning "protector," RFE/RL's Turkmen Service reports.
Berdymukhammedov is frequently referred to as "Arkadag" in the state media and at official meetings and ceremonies.
