A commission led by Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has drafted a new Constitution. The president allegedly rewrote the Constitution in order to extend the presidential term to seven years from five and removes the upper age limit on candidates for presidency.
According to The Guardian, a commission led by Turkmenistan's President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has already rewritten the draft of a new Constitution that will tend to extend the presidential term to seven years from five. This will also remove the upper age limit on candidates for presidency.
The move solidifies Berdymukhamedov's already sweeping powers at a time when the gas-rich Central Asian nation is suffering from a sharp drop in export revenues. The 58-year old president is serving his second term as president after securing his re-election in 2012.
The Week reported that currently in Turkmenistan, there's no limit on the number of terms a president can serve, but candidates can only serve for 70 years. Under the new Constitution, drafted by a commission led by Berdymukhamedov, the presidential terms would be extended from five years to seven, and the age ceiling would be removed. The parliament is expected to pass this new Constitution.
His precursor Saparmurat Niyazov had ruled as president until his death in 2006, becoming the center of the out of the ordinary personality sect. Niyazov's official title was Turkmenbashi, leader of all Turkmens. A local city was named after him and Niyazov's gilded statue was erected in the capital, Ashgabat, as claimed by Yahoo! News.
Berdymukhamedov gradually took apart Niyazov's faction, but only to replace it with his own cult. He now also has a gilded statue of himself and state media refer to him as Arkadag. This means the "protector". Other Central Asian leaders are also looking to strengthen their power as the economies across the region struggle with a drop in commodity prices and the spillover from Russia's recession.
Allies of Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon have called a referendum on constitutional changes that would allow him to run for an unlimited number of terms. Moreover, the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev also called a snap parliamentary election just last month that will make it convenient for his Nur Otan party to keep hold of the control over the legislature.
Meanwhile, Turkmenistan's rubber stamp parliament is expected later this year to pass the new Constitution pitching for the extension of the presidential term. This will also be published by main state newspaper Neutral Turkmenistan for national discussion.
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