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The Turkmenistan elections are divided into 2 broad categories which are namely the Presidential elections and the Legislative elections conducted to elect the President and the legislature respectively. The Turkmenistan elections give more importance to the election of the President, who is also the head of state of Turkmenistan. The legislative elections are held to elect members to the “mejlis” or the Parliament of Turkmenistan and who would function under the President.
The Presidential elections were started when Turkmenistan gained independence from the communist rule of the Soviet Union in 1991 and subsequently the presidential elections were started in order to choose a new head of state for the new republic. It was decided that the Turkmenistan elections for the President would be held every 5 years and as such the President's term consisted of a tenure period of 5 years. However, the procedure of Turkmenistan's elections for the President was absolved when the first elected President, Saparmurat Niyazov, chose to become President for life. However, the Turkmenistan elections for the President has once again gained momentum with the death of Niyazov in 2006 and new Presidential elections being held on 11 February 2007.
The legislative elections can be regarded more as the general elections of the country that are usually held at the national level. The legislative elections are held to elect ministers from 50 single-constituencies throughout Turkmenistan and these ministers are also entitled to serving a 5 year term as minister. The constitution of Turkmenistan has barred any other democratic party, other than the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, to hold any political status within the country. Thus, candidates who are nominees for the legislative elections are all members of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan. The People's council of Turkmenistan is called the Khalk Maslakhaty and has a present member status of about 2500.
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