Turkmenistan creates new parliament chamber
Turkmenistan's authoritarian president, who has an unchallenged hold on power, has signed a constitutional change to expand the country's parliament to two chambers
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Turkmenistan's authoritarian president, who has an unchallenged hold on power, on Friday signed a constitutional change to expand the country’s parliament to two chambers.
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said the move was “yet another important step toward democratizing our country ”
But the newly created upper chamber of parliament membership won't be chosen by voters. The leadership of each of the country’s regions will appoint members, and a seat is guaranteed for any former president.
The current unicameral parliament, which will become the lower chamber, is chosen in elections. However, Turkmenistan has no true political opposition. All the deputies elected in 2018 support Berdymukhamedov, who has established a pervasive cult of personality in the former Soviet republic since coming to power in 2006.
The constitutional change takes effect on Jan. 1, but it wasn't immediately clear when the new chamber would be formed.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.