DUSHANBE, March 4, 2015, Asia-Plus -- The Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER) will start preparations for the next parliamentary elections, which are expected to take place in late February 2015, in the second half of this year, Abdumannon Dodoyev, the head of the CCER’s office, told Asia-Plus Tuesday morning.

According to him, the CCER plans to publish the RT Law “On Elections to the Majlisi Oli (Parliament)” in the form of separate brochure and distribute them to all regions of the country.

“Besides, we are currently working out the plan of training seminars and conferences on holding parliamentary elections,” Dodoyev noted.

We will recall that the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) on February 25 endorsed the bill providing for amendments to the country’s election legislation.  

Authored by MP Mahmadali Vatanov, the amendments, in particular, provides for extending party lists from 30 to 45 percent.  Vatanov notes that it does not mean that the number of deputies elected from party list will increase from 22 to 28.   According to him, extension of the party lists just gives political parties an opportunity to nominate more candidates and have more reserve to replace retiring deputies elected from the party lists.

The amendments also provide for regulation of the process of voting for Tajik citizens residing abroad.  Polling stations established abroad will be headed by heads of Tajikistan’s representative offices in those countries.  Besides, under the current election legislation, only 30 to 3,000 people can vote at a polling station.  The amendments provide for cancelling this requirement for polling stations set up for Tajik citizens residing abroad.  More people can vote at those polling stations.

The amendments also provide for reducing the electoral deposit required from each candidate from 8,000 somoni to 4,000 somoni and increasing air time for candidates.

Vatanov says they took into consideration recommendations of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) while working out the amendments.