TAJIKISTAN….

The last state to abandon the Soviet model, Tajikistan held its first multi-party parliamentary election on February 27. Multiparty, but not democratic. Results were not available as of this writing, but President Imomali Rahmonov’s People’s Democratic Party and the Communist Party are programmed for victory. The two parties are running separately, but they cooperate and have sorted out the winners in most districts. Both oppose “Islamic extremism” and support the military alliance with Russia. And both support President Rahmonov, who won re-election last November with 97 percent of the vote.