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Country Commercial Guides for FY 2000: Turkmenistan Report prepared by U.S. Embassy Ashgabat, Released July 1999 Note*

Chapter III: Political Environment

Turkmenistan is a single party state governed by an authoritarian President. There is no Vice President or Prime Minister. A group of officials each holding the title of Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, each with responsibilities in a defined area, constitutes the next level of executive authority. According to the Constitution, the Chairman of the Mejlis (Parliament) assumes the presidency upon the death or permanent incapacitation of the President and then calls elections. The Halk Maslahaty (People's Council) is the highest representative body and is responsible for adopting constitutional amendments, treaties, and referenda. The Halk Maslahaty is chaired by the President and made up of Cabinet Ministers; regional, district, and city Hakims (governors and mayors); Parliamentary Deputies; People's Representatives, who are elected by one in each etrap (district); the Chairmen of the Supreme Court and the Economic Court; and the General Prosecutor. The Mejlis is the supreme legislative body, elected for a five-year term. However, its authority is limited; its decisions generally reflect the policies of the President.

President Saparmurad Niyazov, who has adopted the honorific surname "Turkmenbashi" ("head of the Turkmen"), is the former First Secretary of the Turkmen Communist Party. He was elected President in 1992 in a single-candidate election for a term of five years; a 1994 referendum resulted in the extension of his initial term to 2002.

The GOTX conducted single-candidate elections for its 50-member, one-house parliament in December 1994. The next parliamentary election is scheduled for December 12, 1999.

The National Democratic Party, the successor to the Communist Party, is currently the country's only political party. It is led by President Niyazov.