Voters in Turkmenistan cast their ballots on Sunday in a parliamentary election that came in the wake of a new constitution that enlarged parliament to 125 seats from 65 and scrapped the People's Council, an assembly of presidential appointees. The polls saw a record turnout of 94%.
A total of 288 candidates, 90% of whom are members of the pro-presidential Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, the only one political party legally registered in the Central Asian state, participated in the election.
The polls were part of reforms in the gas-rich ex-Soviet republic announced by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, but attracted little attention from the country's opposition, most of whom live in exile.
The previous president, Saparmurat Niyazov, styled himself 'Turkmenbashi' (the head of all Turkmen) and cultivated a bizarre cult of personality, ruling the largely desert state with an iron fist from the end of the Soviet era until his death in late 2006.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Observer Mission said in its statement that the elections were held "in line with the country's legislation and universally recognized norms of democratic elections" and reflected "the stable step-by-step social and economic development of the state."
The final results of the polls are to be officially published by the Central Election Commission within 10 days.
Observers from the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe also monitored the polls but have yet to comment.
