Tajik opposition holds rare protest ahead of poll
Source: Reuters
By Roman Kozhevnikov DUSHANBE, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Tajikistan's fragmented opposition joined forces on Saturday to hold a rare rally against next week's presidential election, the first public protest since the end of the civil war in 1997. Despite the rally, the mood was lethargic before Monday's vote, which is expected to extend President Imomali Rakhmonov's 14-year-old rule by a third term. Many voters in the capital Dushanbe and surrounding villages said they saw no alternative to Rakhmonov. A few dozen activists defied strict laws against public gatherings and attended a rally in the centre of Dushanbe, some waving banners calling for the observance of electoral law in their tightly run former Soviet country. "We came here to show our disdain for the central election commission and the whole election system," Shams Gulmamadov, an official from the opposition Social Democratic party, said. "We plan to continue protests like this." Opposition parties including the Social Democrats are boycotting the poll. Rakhmonov, criticised for cracking down on human rights and jailing dissidents, faces four little-known candidates from state-friendly parties. The protesters looked tense and fearful during their unauthorised rally in front of the Justice Ministry. They left voluntarily after half an hour as police looked on. Tajikistan is still recovering from the brutal civil war of the 1990s that destroyed its economy and caused tens of thousands of deaths. The war pitted Rakhmonov's Russia-backed government against an alliance of Islamists and liberals. The opposition, powerful in the 1990s, has lost much of its clout and remains divided. Demonstrations such as Saturday's rally are uncommon and the predominant mood ahead of the election was one of apathy. "I don't know anything about the other candidates. I don't know what they look like," said Sarvinoz, a 26-year-old woman serving in a shop in the town of Nurek near Dushanbe. "I'll vote for Rakhmonov. Everyone says it's the right thing to do."
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