Tajik parliamentary elections have been democratic, transparent and quiet, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon said on Tuesday.

Tajikistan's ruling People's Democratic Party, the largest among the eight officially registered political parties in Tajikistan numbering 85,000 members and led by Rakhmon, received 54 of the 63 seats in the Parliament after elections on February 28.

The People's Democratic Party received 70.6% of the votes, according to the Central Election Commission.

"The polls showed that we [Tajikistan] came one step closer to the creation of a democratic and civil society," Rakhmon said adding that the elections led to the society's consolidation.

"Some 10 years ago, political parties could not safely carry election campaigns, which is now different in the current elections," the Tajik president said.

The president said that the country has three strategic priorities in its policy such as energy independence, food security and exit from transport isolation. He added that he will also exert much effort to fight corruption in the country.

Rakhmon, who has ruled the impoverished Central Asian nation of 7.5 million for almost two decades, was re-elected leader of the People's Democratic Party in December 2009.

Rakhmon's eldest son, Rustam Emomali, believed to be his father's possible successor, was elected to the Dushanbe city council in a separate election on February 28.

DUSHANBE, March 16 (RIA Novosti)