DUSHANBE, April 7, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- The Islamic Revival Party (IRP) candidate for parliamentary by-election scheduled for May 15, Said Ibrohim Nazar, may refuse to run in the by-election.

According to him, if the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER) does not make decision on allowing IRP representatives to participate in work of in polling stations, he will refuse to run in the by-election in Dushanbe’s constituency # 4 (Sino district).  Said Ibrohim stressed that IRP’s political council supported his decision.

“Arguments advanced by the district electoral commission against participation of representatives of political parties in work of polling stations are baseless,” said the IRP candidate.  “If the country’s election legislation prohibits representatives of political from participating in polling stations, why did the district electoral commission accept the list of IRP representatives for inclusion into compositions of polling stations?”

We will recall that electoral commission for Dushanbe’s constituency # 4 on April 5 registered four candidates for the upcoming parliamentary by-election.  Among them are Amirqul Azimov nominated by the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDPT), Muzaffar Mirzoyev nominated by the Agrarian Party (APT) and two self-propelled candidates -- Tolibshoh Saidzoda, editor-in-chief of the Dushanbe weekly Millat (Nation), and Safarbek Mannonov, deputy director of the National Medical Center.

In the meantime, the Islamic Revival Party (IRP) candidate Said Ibrohim Nazar has refused to register for the by-election for the abovementioned reason.

The CCER officials say that under the country’s election legislation, representatives of political parties cannot be members of the polling stations; they just may attend the poling stations as observers.

According to them, Said Ibrohim Nazar ran for a seat in the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) in Kulob’s constituency in 2005.  At that time, at first Said Ibrohim Nazar also refused to register for the same reason but he then changed his mind.

The by-election will be held on May 15 following appointment of Shermuhammad Shohiyon who formerly represented Dushanbe’s constituency # 4 in the Majlisi Namoyandagon as the CCER chairman.

Dushanbe’s constituency # 4 reportedly numbers some 70,000 voters and 48 polling stations are expected to be set up in the constituency.