The upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for March 2, 2025, do not represent an expression of the people’s will but rather a pre-orchestrated process aimed at preserving and legitimizing authoritarian power. In the context of the complete destruction of democratic institutions, the absence of political competition, and the brutal suppression of civil liberties, this farce cannot be recognized as an electoral process in the democratic sense.
The regime of Emomali Rahmon has systematically eliminated independent political forces, physically eradicated political leaders through repression, mass killings, arbitrary arrests, and intimidation.
Opposition leaders such as Zayd Saidov, Muhammadruzi Iskandarov, Muhammadali Hait, Saidumar Husaini, Izzat Amon, Maksud Ibragimov, Faromuz Ergashev, and Sukhrobi Zafar, along with thousands of other political figures and activists, have been subjected to severe persecution, imprisoned, and tens of thousands have been forced into exile. The only registered opposition party, the Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan, has refused to participate in the elections, and its deputy chairman, Professor Shokirjon Hakimov, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on politically motivated charges. These actions by the authorities have ultimately deprived the Tajik people of the right to political representation and a democratic alternative.
Elections conducted without genuine competition, under conditions of total censorship, citizen intimidation, and the absence of independent monitoring, cannot be considered legitimate. The Tajik authorities’ refusal to accredit OSCE/ODIHR observers constitutes a direct violation of the country’s international obligations and reflects the regime’s fear of an independent assessment of the electoral process. The OSCE explicitly stated that the lack of security guarantees and restrictions on observer access forced the mission to decline monitoring. This step by the international community underscores an obvious truth: the upcoming elections are not a democratic process but yet another attempt to legitimize the usurpation of power.
The Movement “Reforms and Development of Tajikistan” declares that the 2025 parliamentary elections do not meet democratic standards and are illegitimate.
The Movement “Reforms and Development of Tajikistan” boycotts the parliamentary elections on March 2, 2025.
We call on the people of Tajikistan to refuse participation in this spectacle and not to become accomplices in a political staging. The international community, the governments of democratic countries, and international organizations must condemn this fraudulent process and refuse to recognize its results.
The future of Tajikistan must be determined not through regime-controlled imitations of elections but through genuine political dialogue, democratic reforms, and the return of power to the people.
Without free elections, there is no democracy. And without democracy, there is no future!
Sharofiddin Gadoev
Chairman of the Movement for Reforms and Development of Tajikistan
February 10, 2025, Amsterdam
