Daily Times

DUSANBE: Tajikistan’s president Imomali Rakhmon will be able to run for an unlimited number of terms after a series of constitutional amendments were backed in a weekend referendum. The changes won support of 94.5 percent of voters, Central Election Commission chairman Bakhtiyor Khudoyorzoda told reporters on Monday citing preliminary results, adding that turnout was 92 percent. “May 22 became a historical date in the country’s political life,” he said. The amendments will allow Rakhmon, head of state since 1992 and president since 1994, to run again when his current term ends in 2020. The minimum age for presidential candidates was also lowered, so Rakhmon’s elder son Rustam could also run at that time. Rakhmon enjoys sweeping powers amid a flourishing personality cult, and few doubted that referendum results would show landslide popular support for the proposed amendments.