Turkmenistan held elections to the country\'s Mejlis (parliament) on 19 December, Turkmen TV reported. Turkmen government sources reported 76.88 percent turnout in elections that saw 131 candidates competing for 50 seats. Official Turkmen reports hailed a \"triumph of democracy,\" but a preponderance of international opinion has dismissed the elections as a farce. In a representative comment, Erika Dailey, director of the Open Society Institute\'s Turkmenistan Project, told the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) on 15 December, \"The Turkmen election is much worse than an empty exercise. It is a mockery of the citizenry.\" (RFE/RL)