Issue 2025, 4: Turkmenistan presidential election 2017. A facade of pluralism
On 12 February 2017, the president of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, won a predictably handsome presidential election victory with a margin of 97.7% and an impressive turnout of 97.28%. At first sight it might seem like just another Soviet-style election, with a solitary contender predestined to win a plebiscitary type contest. During this election, however, the Turkmen political elite constructed a facade of pluralism by running an unprecedented nine candidates representing three political parties.
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