Policy Shift Unlikely In Short Term

Less than two months after the death of President Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan held its first multi-candidate presidential election on February 11. With the backing of the armed forces, the powerful internal security services and the People's Council, Acting President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is almost certain to win. Indeed, the institutional support behind Berdymukhamedov is such that even the head of the Central Election Commission, Murad Karriyev, declared on December 28 that he would 'do everything' to ensure a Berdymukhamedov victory. Challenging the acting president, are four relatively unknown regional officials and the deputy oil and gas minister. With all of the

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