DUSHANBE, October 2, 2014, Asia-Plus -- The Socialist Party of Tajikistan (SPT) has decided to hold it 9th congress in Dushanbe on December 17.

We will recall that the SPT held conferences in a number of cities and districts of the country in early September to elect delegates for its 9th congress due in December this year.

SPT leader Abduhalim Ghafforov says 210 delegates from all regions of the country will attend the congress.  The congress will determine a party list of candidates for the 2015 parliamentary elections and party’s representatives that will run in single-mandate constituencies.

“We intend to include 14-15 candidates in the party list and three or four our candidates will run in single-mandate constituencies,” Ghafforov said.

Ghafforov says his party now has more 21,000 members.

He is sure that his party will win seats in the parliament’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) and be able to form a group in the parliament.

Founded in 1993, the Socialist Party of Tajikistan was registered on August 6, 1996.  The party is divided in two factions: the pro-government faction led by Abduhalim Ghafforov and the faction led by Mirhusein Narziyev that is not recognized.  The party''s founder, Safarali Kenjayev, was assassinated in Dushanbe in late March 1999. The party has not been able to regroup since Kenjayev''s death.