DUSHANBE, February 6, 2013, Asia-Plus  -- On Tuesday February 5, the Ministry of Justice officially recognized Saidjaffar Ismonov as the legitimate leader of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan (DPT), Rajab Mirzo, a member of the DPT Political Council, told Asia-Plus in an interview.

“The Ministry of Justice reregistered DPT’s Charter and dismissal of ex-leader of the party Masoud Sobirov is now considered to be lawful,” Rajab Mirzo noted.   

We will recall that an extraordinary congress of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan (DPT) that took place in Dushanbe on December 23, 2012 elected Saidjaffar Ismonov, the leader of one of the DPT wings, as chairman of the party.

86 delegates from all regions of the country attended the congress and all the party wings reportedly merged with each other.

We will recall that Democrats in Sughd province and Gorno Badakhshan as well as some primary organizations of the party in other regions of the country stopped recognizing Masoud Sobirov as the party leader and demanded convocation of the extraordinary congress of the party.

The Democratic Party of Tajikistan can trace its origins back to the last days of the Soviet Union.  Registered on June 21, 1991 and banned by the Supreme Court on June 21, 1993, the Democratic Party of Tajikistan was reregistered on December 3, 1999.

At the end of 1990s, two factions laid claim to the Democratic Party of Tajikistan: the Almaty platform led by Mahmadruzi Iskandarov and the Tehran platform run by Azam Afzali.  The Tehran platform later transformed itself into the Taraqqiyot (Progress) Party.

On October 5, 2005, the Supreme Court sentenced DPT leader Mahmadruzi Iskandarov to 23 years in prison.  The sentence followed his conviction on charges of terrorism, the embezzlement of state funds, and the illegal storage of weapons, though his supporters say he was jailed for political motives.

The party split into two factions again and the Ministry of Justice recognized Masoud Sobirov as the legitimate leader of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan in October 2006.