CIS observers expect to take part in the work of observing the presidential elections in Turkmenistan, said Leonid Anfimov , First Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee - CIS Executive Secretary . This was reported on February 15 by BelTA.

"We're planning. These issues have already been discussed. At a recent meeting of the Central Election Commission of Turkmenistan, it was said that observers, both domestic and international experts, would take part in the elections. And, of course, I think we will receive such an invitation in the near future and have already begun to form this mission,” Leonid Anfimov said.

The CEC meeting took place on 13 February. The state news agency TDH wrote that it "discussed a number of organizational issues of the upcoming campaign, the course of which will be monitored not only by national observers from political parties and public organizations, but also by international experts and observers ."

On February 14, the election campaign started . On the same day, the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan nominated the president's son, Deputy Prime Minister Serdar Berdimuhamedov , as a presidential candidate.

Early elections in Turkmenistan are scheduled for March 12.

At the previous presidential elections in Turkmenistan in 2017, the CIS observers did not reveal any serious violations that affected the final result and, as the state information agency TDH reported at the time, “stated with satisfaction that the presidential elections in Turkmenistan were held successfully, in an orderly manner, on a broad alternative basis, in conditions of openness and publicity and with a high activity of the electorate”.

At the same time, the OSCE mission negatively assessed the elections, declaring the absence of opposition and the authorities' monopoly on the media. Preparation of the report of the organization took three months.

Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan