Power Vacuum

With the death in December of veteran President Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan's short-term political rating has plunged from one of the highest in the CIS to the lowest. The previous rating reflected the virtually total control exercised by Niyazov over all aspects of the political system, and the resulting short-term policy continuity, and the current score the huge power vacuum left behind. Nevertheless, we would expect this rating to begin to improve modestly over time, as and when the succession outlook becomes a bit clearer. For now, we see a high chance of acting president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov winning the February

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