Tajikistan votes in referendum to empower veteran president

Dushanbe: Ex-Soviet Tajikistan went to the polls Sunday in a referendum on constitutional changes almost certain to strengthen the hold of incumbent President Emomali Rakhmon and his family over the impoverished Central Asian state.

Polling stations that opened at 0100 GMT in the authoritarian country's capital Dushanbe saw large queues form in a vote to decide whether Rakhmon, 63, will be able to run for an unlimited number of terms among other changes.

Rakhmon has ruled Tajikistan for close to a quarter of a century, showing what critics say is an increased disregard for religious freedoms, civil society and political pluralism in recent years.

Residents of the near million-strong city appeared enthusiastic in their support for the autocrat who led the country out of a five-year civil war that began in 1992, less than a year after independence.

"Emomali Rakhmon is a good president for Tajikistan. Look at Afghanistan to the South. Look at Iraq and Syria. Here we have peace and stability," Parviz Haitov, a taxi driver that also trades goods over the border with neighbouring China told AFP.

The term limit amendment applies only to Rakhmon, owing to the 'Leader of the Nation' status parliament voted to grant him last year, which also affords him and his family permanent immunity from criminal prosecution.

Other amendments analysts view as significant include a lowering of the presidential age limit from 35 to 30 and a ban on the formation of parties based on religion.

The age limit change could position Rakhmon's 28-year-old son, Rustam, for an early succession, while restrictions on political parties come amid the ongoing trial of key members of a banned Islamic party.

The Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) was widely viewed as moderate before the government branded it a terrorist group last year, stripping away the most significant formal opposition to the Rakhmon regime.

In the months leading up to the referendum authorities have pushed through a number of initiatives glorifying Rakhmon's rule, which is regularly lambasted by rights organisations as corrupt and repressive.

Earlier this month, the autocrat signed off on a law creating a holiday in his honour proposed by parliamentarians in the two-chamber legislature completely loyal to his administration.

In February the republic's youth affairs committee launched a contest for the best essays by schoolchildren in praise of the strongman's "heroic" rule.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said Saturday that the government had been "blocking", "intimidating" and "threatening" independent media outlets in the build up to the referendum.

Over 3,200 polling stations are open for voters in the mountainous majority Muslim country with additional stations available in major cities in Russia where over a million Tajiks live and work.

Polling stations in Tajikistan are expected to close at around 1500 GMT with the result of the yes-no vote declared by the Central Electoral Commission on Monday.