Orderly Turkmen transition urged

By Natalia Antelava
BBC News

Flags are flying at half-mast in the capital Ashgabat

The international community has called for stability and a peaceful transition of power in Turkmenistan following the death of its leader.

The authoritarian president, and self-styled father of all Turkmen, Saparmurat Niyazov died from heart failure leaving no apparent successor.

Turkmenistan has closed its border with Uzbekistan, and security is on high alert along the Kazakh frontier.

The outside world is watching closely to see what happens next.

The energy-rich nation - a neighbour of Iran and Afghanistan and a crucial supplier of gas to Europe - faces unprecedented political uncertainty.

We expect the succession process to be carried out according to the Constitution and the rule of law Benita Ferrero-Waldner EU External Relations Commissioner

The way it deals with it could determine a multitude of issues, from heating Europe's homes to the fragile stability of the whole region as well as the war in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Turkmenistan's Central Asian neighbours as well as the EU, the US and Russia have all expressed the need for keeping stability.

Forthcoming elections

The reasons for concern are real.

For years, President Niyazov's elaborate and often bizarre personality cult was all that kept Turkmenistan together.

In pictures: Daily life Q&A: Impact of death Grim legacy of leader's death Death leaves uncertain future

The eccentricity of his rule, the golden statues of himself and the decrees he issued often overshadowed the grim reality.

Now with the main hero gone, the poverty so extreme and no political institutions in place people are afraid of a crisis in the succession.

An early sign of it was when the chairman of the country's legislature was banned from becoming acting president because of criminal proceedings against him.

The deputy minister, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, was declared acting president instead.

And speaking on national television, he pledged to follow in the footsteps of Turkmenbashi, as President Niyazov was known.

On 26 December, the upper house of parliament will discuss the succession and the upcoming election, which, according to the constitution, must take place within the next two months.

In the meantime, exiled opposition groups claim they are ready to return to the country to fight for power.