TURKMENISTAN: ELECTION PREPARATIONS IN BALKAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 001589

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2018
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM SOCI TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: ELECTION PREPARATIONS IN BALKAN
PROVINCE

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Richard M. Miles. Reasons 1.4 (B)
and (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: During a pre-election visit to two cities in
Balkan province, poloff met with two groups of election
officials eager to answer questions and show-off their
preparations for election day. Each of the 11 seats in the
province are contested by two or three candidates. The
candidates themselves represented a range of interest groups
and professions. Nearly one quarter of the candidates are
women. Among the social organizations that nominated
candidates, the selection process varied somewhat, but all
seemed to share at least some elements of openness and
popular support. Campaigning itself is low-key, usually
involving joint meetings with voter groups at which
candidates answer questions. Media coverage consists of
candidate information published in the provincial newspaper
and limited local television coverage. All candidates get
equal access to publicity. Two and a half weeks before the
election, polling stations were largely in place and polling
station workers had already sent first notices to registered
voters. As the first Turkmen elections open to foreign
observers, it was clear that officials were making a
conscientious effort to show that elections would be
conducted in compliance with Turkmen law. END SUMMARY.

ALL SEATS CONTESTED, ONLY TWO INCUMBENTS


2. (C) On November 25, poloff met with four members of the
provincial election commission (PEC) of Balkan Province, an
area that borders on the Caspian Sea, to discuss local
preparations for the upcoming December 14 Mejlis
(parliamentary) elections. There are 11 electoral districts
in Balkan province, each of which will elect its own Mejlis
deputy. Among the eleven districts, three seats each have
three candidates, while the remaining eight seats are
contested by two candidates each. Two of the 25 candidates
are incumbents, and six are women. Although there is a
provision in the election law for independent candidates,
there were no independents in Balkan. Each of the candidates
were nominated by a mass organization, which in turn is a
member of the Galkynysh (Revival) national movement.
According to the commission members, Galkynysh works as a
"family" to insure that the interests of all groups -- women,
youth, veterans, etc. -- coincide. They clarified that any
social organization registered with the Ministry of Justice
can nominate a candidate, for example, the Red Crescent
Society.

CANDIDATES PICKED AT OPEN MEETINGS


3. (C) According to the PEC members, candidates were picked
at open meetings that were held at the various organizations.
No candidates volunteered and it was explained that it would
be viewed as immodest to propose one's own candidacy.
Rather, candidates were nominated at the meetings based on
factors such as experience, especially legal and economic,
knowledge and public confidence that they would do a good
job. A PEC member explained that at the nomination meetings,
many attendees sat and thought that perhaps they would be
nominated. After the nominees were named, the attendees
voted to decide who would be the organization's candidate.
The process was orderly and people did not sit all night
voting. The district election commissions in Balkan province
accepted all proposed candidates. No candidates were
rejected.

LOW KEY CAMPAIGNING


4. (C) Prior to the recent electoral reform, each polling
station served up to 3,000 people, versus a maximum 2,000
voters currently. The city of Balkanabat has three electoral
districts. Campaigning takes place through candidate
meetings with voters. The candidates only appear jointly,
insuring equal access to meetings. The provincial newspaper
had already published candidate information, which included

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the candidate's photo, biographical information and platform.
The candidates' meetings with voters would also be broadcast
on the provincial television channel during regular news
programs and special, election-related programs. The PEC
members assured poloff that all candidates have equal
campaign resources, "not like in the United States where some
candidates have more or less" than others.

IMPROVEMENT OVER SOVIET ELECTIONS


5. (C) When asked for a comparison with Soviet-era elections,
a PEC member said that during Soviet elections, the voters
did not know anything about the candidates. They were just
presented with a list of candidates that came from above
without any biographical information or platform. She
suggested that the situation is much better now because
"people know their neighbors better than Moscow knew them."
Continuing, she said that, compared with the USSR,
Turkmenistan can do more for itself nowadays. "Previously,
Moscow had all the factories and built everything for itself.
Now everyone sees what there is in the country. That is
democracy, independence, and it influences every person."
Before they always waited for something from above. Now, she
said, they do for themselves. The PEC members also
emphasized the role that elders play in Turkmen society. The
Halk Maslahty (People's Council),will still have a role.
(Note: The People's Council was stripped of its power in the
new constitution. End Note) One PEC member compared Turkmen
citizens to a son who does what the father asks without
questioning, "That is the Turkmen character."

EVERYTHING READY AT POLLING STATIONS


6. (C) Poloff visited six polling stations in Balkanabat, the
capital of Balkan province. Signs in both Turkmen and
Russian were already mounted around the entrances to polling
stations throughout the city. Most stations were almost
completely set up with voting booths and tables in place,
voter lists posted, copies of the election law and election
documents available and working telephones. At stations
located in buildings with a lot of people passing through,
the polling station items were stored in an adjacent room
until closer to election day. All polling places had
transparent voting urns. Polling station committees were in
charge of distributing election "invitations" to the homes of
all voters, both three weeks before the election and again
three-four days before the election.

THE CANDIDATES' VIEWS


7. (C) Poloff met three candidates for seats in Balkanabat.
Two of the three were competing for the same seat. They were
an administrator in the provincial government, nominated by
the Democratic Party; the deputy director of a bank,
nominated by the Veterans' Society; and a gas company
engineer, also nominated by the Democratic Party. The
administrator said he knew the city well due to his work and
had expressed interest in running to the Democratic Party, of
which he was a member. 50-60 people supported his candidacy.
The gas engineer mentioned that he'd been supplying gas to
homes for 30 years and was known by a lot of people. Their
campaign activities had consisted of preparing their
biographies and platforms for publication. They had held
only one joint meeting with voters at that time. They said
their meetings with voters would not be debates, but rather
an opportunity to answer questions from the voters. They had
no schedule of future voter meetings, saying it would depend
on voter interest. They were all interested in social and
economic questions, particularly the improvement of the
standard of living. One candidate mentioned that, as
Turkmenistan moves towards the international economic system,
they would need to protect their national interests.


8. (C) According to the candidates, there is great voter
interest in the election, more than for previous elections.
In order to deliver social services and provide guarantees,

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there need to be appropriate laws. It would not be enough
for a deputy to just say that something is needed, but they
must also provide the laws that would make it happen. In
addition to creating new laws, a candidate emphasized that,
as a result of the new constitution, the responsibility of
the Mejlis would be greater. Deputies would be able to
accomplish more. Their role would be to further develop
national policy, particularly economic questions. The
candidates did not see a difference between local and
national policy priorities.

HOW THE DISTRICT ELECTION COMMISSION WAS SELECTED


9. (C) The following day, poloff met with members of the
district election commissions (DEC) in the port city of
Turkmenbashy. The city has two election districts, each with
two candidates. There are ten polling stations in each
district. The two candidates in the 36th district are women,
one a lawyer nominated by the Women's Union, the other the
editor of the newspaper published by the oil refinery, a
Democratic Pary nominee. In the 37th district, the
candidates were nominated by the youth organization and the
trade union. The DEC members explained that the DEC chairman
was selected at a meeting attended by representatives of all
the social organizations. At that meeting, various
organizations proposed candidates for the position of DEC
chairman. The winner, a youth union member, had already
worked on the DEC for three years. There were also
representatives from the Democratic Party and the Trade Union
nominated for the chairmanship. The decision was made by
vote. Following his election, the DEC chairman attended a
seminar in Balkanabat, the provincial capital. At the end of
October, the DEC was formed, consisting of 11 members and one
deputy chairman. Each social organization proposed one DEC
member.


10. (C) Regarding the election, no independent candidates
came forth during the prescribed period. The DEC chairman
explained that since he was a youth union member, it would be
a conflict for the youth union to also nominate a candidate
in the district. In choosing a candidate, the youth union
had conducted a joint meeting with the trade union in order
to nominate a candidate. In their case, there were
preliminary talks within the organizations to pick a
candidate, after which that person was confirmed at the joint
meeting. The DEC chairman added that, in the past, some
people have proposed their own candidacy at these meetings.
Candidates had been consulted in advance about their interest
in running -- "they were not just ordered," he said.


11. (C) In Turkmenbashy, no candidate meetings with voters
had taken place two and a half weeks before the elections.
The DEC chairman said the candidates were still preparing,
but that it was possible that they would hold several
meetings per day. The DEC could organize candidate meetings
with voters, or groups of voters could request meetings
themselves. Candidate meetings with voters could be either
joint or only one candidate. DEC members said joint meetings
have the advantage of allowing voters to compare the
candidates' answers, respective worldviews and programs. DEC
members said there are only national television broadcasts in
Turkmenbashy, so there would be no television coverage of
local candidates. Candidates prepared their own platforms,
with the advice of "experienced people."


12. (C) COMMENT: Officials were open and willing to answer
any questions. They welcomed poloff's presence, saying that
interest in the elections shown by a foreigner would
highlight the importance of the elections for locals. It
seemed apparent that from a technical point of view, the
elections should be able to take place in compliance with
Turkmen election law. The candidates themselves seemed to
represent a variety of backgrounds and social groups and, in
the absence of a multi-party system, nonetheless reflected a
degree of pluralism. END COMMENT.
MILES