Tajikistan’s governing party named official winner of parliament vote; opposition plans appeal

Tajik governing party declared election winner

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan — Election officials in Tajikistan have declared the governing party the overwhelming winner of parliamentary elections that international observers say were marred by widespread fraud.

The Central Election Commission said Friday that a definitive count of ballots cast in Sunday’s contest shows the People’s Democratic Party winning 70.6 percent of the vote. It is now set to take 54 of the 63 seats in the Central Asian nation’s lower chamber of parliament.

The landslide is set to reinforce President Emomali Rakhmon’s two-decade hold over the ex-Soviet country that serves as a supply route for international forces in neighboring Afghanistan.

The Islamic Revival Party, which came a distant second with 8.2 percent of the vote, is to appeal the result in court.