Tajikistan prepares for key poll

Campaigning is ending ahead of the parliamentary elections in Tajikistan - the only Central Asian country in which genuine opposition parties are allowed. Sunday's vote is the first since the completion of the UN-run peace process that ended a civil war in the 1990s.

President Emomali Rakhmonov's People's Democratic Party is the clear front-runner, and is likely win most of the 63 parliamentary seats.

But the Islamic Rebirth party hopes to win votes in the countryside.

Tajikistan has always been different to other countries in the region, with a colourful political scene that began in the 1990s, when vast street rallies overthrew the communist-era president.

TAJIKISTAN POLL

• Six parties contesting 63 seats
• Two main parties are the People's Democratic Party and the Islamic Rebirth Party
• More than 200 candidates
• 41 seats chosen by direct votes
• Other 22 divided between parties that win 5% of the vote
• About 400 foreign observers expected to attend

The uprising ushered in a decade of civil war between Islamic-style fighters and what is now the government.

President Rakhmonov's party holds the levers of power and is advertised heavily on television.

Opposition groups say they have had difficulties registering their candidates, and that government agents are ripping down their campaign posters.

Despite this, some voters are still likely to turn out for the Islamic party - seeing it as less corrupt and more in touch with the people.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
US embassy in Tajikistan
Russian government
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