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Dictator's aide sworn in as new Turkmen president
AFP
ASHGABAT
Petroleumworld.com 02 14 06Regime loyalist Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov was sworn in as Turkmenistan's new president at a grand ceremony on Wednesday amid hopes for reform in this resource-rich Central Asian nation.
Berdymukhammedov, a former health minister who was appointed interim president after the death of dictator Saparmurat Niyazov in December, was declared the winner of a controversial weekend presidential election.
"Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov received 89.23 percent of the votes," the head of Turkmenistan's electoral commission, Murad Karryev, told a meeting of the country's highest legislative body, the People's Council.
"The people have confided their destiny in you," Karryev told Berdymukhammedov, who then embraced the Turkmen flag and took an oath on the country's constitution.
The presidential election on Sunday was the first in the country's history to feature multiple candidates but the vote was criticised by Western diplomats and exiled opposition leaders as rigged.
Ahead of the election, ordinary Turkmens voiced hopes for an easing of the strict authoritarian rules set by Niyazov, including restrictions on international travel.
The five other candidates in the election were mostly little-known officials who were thought to have no real chance of winning and all the candidates were members of the country's only authorised political party.
Amaniaz Atazhikov, a deputy regional governor, came second with 3.23 percent of the ballots cast by almost 99 percent of the country's two million registered voters. Other candidates scored less than three percent.
The assembly on Wednesday was attended by more than 2,500 local officials and clan leaders from Turkmenistan's five provinces, many dressed in traditional Turkmen costumes and some also wearing sheepskin hats.
International heads of state including Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan were also in attendance.
Major international powers have watched closely for signs of change in the country following the death of Niyazov because of the country's vast natural gas reserves and its strategic location next to Afghanistan.
In his victory speech, Berdymukhammedov vowed to respect gas export contracts signed with Russia and said he would build new universities and maternity hospitals across Turkmenistan.
He also said he would follow the policies of Niyazov, who clamped down on political dissent and established an elaborate personality cult during his 21 years of hardline rule in this mostly desert state.
Turkmenistan has the 12th largest known gas reserves in the world, according to figures provided by energy major BP, and has been eyed by Western powers as a major potential new market.
Russia relies heavily on discounted Turkmen gas imports to be able to meet its export obligations to western Europe and energy-hungry China has also announced plans to build a pipeline from Turkmenistan.
AFP 14 0659 GMT 02 07
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