CENTRAL ASIA - CAUCASUS ANALYST

CENTRAL ASIA - CAUCASUS ANALYST Wednesday/December 26, 2007

TURKMEN LEGISLATURE APPROVES CANDIDACY OF ACTING PRESIDENT
27 December
Turkmenistan's highest legislative body, the many-thousand-member People's Assembly, approved on December 26 the candidacy of acting Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov for president in an election planned for February 11, RFE/RL's Turkmen Service and Turkmen state television reported. The move was crucial for the acting president, as the Turkmen Constitution formally barred an interim leader from running, although the approval of the People's Assembly amended the constitution to clear his candidacy. Another five candidates were also approved, including a deputy energy minister, two city mayors, one deputy regional governor, and one district head. Confirming the date of the election, Turkmen Election Commission Chairman Murat Garriev vowed that the contest will be "of the highest standards." Berdymukhammedov also pledged that "the election will be held "on a democratic basis." Berdymukhammedov, who worked as a dentist before becoming a deputy prime minister and health minister, was appointed interim president on December 21 and has officially become a potential successor to Niyazov. (RFE/RL)