DUSHANBE, August 29, Asia-Plus -- The Ninth extraordinary Congress of Tajikistan’s Social-Democratic Party (SDPT) will be held on September 17, the SDPT leader Rahmatillo Zoirov announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on August 29.

According to him, the congress will consider two issues: participating in the upcoming presidential election due in November this year and fielding its candidate in the election.  

“The last chance to correct the law on election of the president is an extraordinary joint session of both chambers of the country’s parliament set for August 31,” said Rahmatillo Zoirov, “And the president itself should display initiative in making changes to this law.” 

The SDPT leader did not give a concrete answer whether the DTP would participate in the election or not.  According to him, “taking into account numerous violations reported already at the present stage the upcoming presidential election in Tajikistan, in our opinion, will be on the verge of illegitimacy.”   

Mr. Zoirov repeated once again that Tajikistan’s Constitution does not give incumbent President Emomali Rahmonov the right seek another term.  

He also noted that Tajikistan does not have a single standard of holding of elections.   

Speaking to journalists, Rahmatillo Zoirov also commenting on his disease, which was lately inflated in the press, according to him.  He noted that he recently returned from Switzerland, where he underwent a medical examination during a month.  According to Mr. Zoirov, he had two ischemic strokes.  “But the cause of the disease has not been revealed,” the SDPT leader said. 

Answering to the question about the possibility of poisoning, the SDPT leader said that it was hard to prove that.