DUSHANBE, February 21, 2013, Asia-Plus  -- Three of five political parties represented in Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) have worked out amendments to the country’s law on political parties.

Under these amendments, political parties represented in the parliament and whose candidates overcame a 5-percent threshold in presidential and parliamentary elections have the right to get financing from the national budget.

MP Ismoil Talbakov, who is also deputy chairman of the Communist Party (CPT), says “We have offered to allocate five somoni per each vote to political parties represented in the parliament and overcoming the 5-percent threshold in the presidential election.”

According to him, representatives of the Agrarian Party (APT) and the Party of Economic Reforms in the Majlisi Namoyandagon have seconded that proposal.

We will recall that five political parties – People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Islamic Revival Party (IRP), CPT, APT and the Party of Economic Reforms – are now represented in the Majlisi Namoyandagon.  IRP, CPT, APT and the Party of Economic Reforms have two seats in the parliament each.  Meanwhile, the ruling PDP now controls 45 seats in a 63-seat lower house of parliament and ten other seats are occupied by unaffiliated deputies.