We condemn these fraudulent elections as yet another step in the usurpation of power and do not recognize the results of the parliamentary elections held on March 2, 2025, in Tajikistan. These elections constitute a gross violation of the constitutional order and do not reflect the genuine will of the people. They represent an unconstitutional seizure of power and a premeditated spectacle designed solely to maintain the authoritarian rule of Emomali Rahmon, who continues to usurp power and suppress civil liberties.
The Central Commission for Elections and Referenda of Tajikistan (CCER) claimed that voter turnout reached 85.3% (4,712,967 out of 5,525,166 registered voters); however, this figure is entirely fabricated and bears no relation to the actual turnout. Even in the world’s most democratic countries, voter turnout rarely reaches such levels, especially in the absence of genuine political competition.
In reality, independent sources report that only 304,301 people participated in the elections, constituting a mere 5.51% of the total registered voters. This means that over 94% of citizens boycotted the elections, expressing their distrust of the regime and refusing to participate in this unconstitutional farce.
Systematic Violations and Electoral Fraud
One of the most egregious violations in these rigged elections was the mass disenfranchisement of citizens. Many did not receive voting invitations, and a significant number of polling stations existed only on paper. The CCER falsified election protocols to create the illusion of an organized electoral process where none existed. Moreover, the regime deliberately failed to open polling stations in hundreds of towns and remote areas, restricting voting to major cities—clear evidence of deliberate power usurpation.
The 2025 elections serve as yet another confirmation of the complete dismantling of democratic institutions and the consolidation of power within a single family, which controls all state and public structures. The electoral process had nothing in common with the principles of free and fair elections, as demonstrated by the following facts:
• Total absence of political competition: No independent political party was allowed to participate in the elections. The officially registered parties were mere puppet structures, entirely controlled by the authorities. There were no political debates, and the distribution of parliamentary seats was predetermined by Rahmon’s directives.
• Widespread electoral fraud: Independent observers, including the OSCE/ODIHR, were not allowed to monitor the elections.
• Complete suppression of freedom of speech: Independent media were entirely excluded from covering the election process. Internet resources were subjected to severe censorship, and the voting took place in secrecy, without public oversight and in direct violation of electoral laws.
• Falsification of voter lists: Up to 3 million Tajik citizens abroad were included in voter lists, even though 2.5 million of them had the right to vote but were unable to cast their ballots.
• Empty polling stations: Propaganda videos circulated by state-controlled media clearly showed a lack of queues and real voter participation, directly contradicting official claims of high turnout.
International Law Violations and Illegitimacy
Emomali Rahmon’s regime deliberately refused to allow an OSCE/ODIHR mission, constituting a flagrant violation of Tajikistan’s international commitments and demonstrating the regime’s fear of independent election assessments. The OSCE explicitly stated that security concerns and severe restrictions forced them to withdraw from monitoring. This decision by the international community reaffirms an undeniable truth: the elections were not a democratic process but merely another attempt to legitimize power usurpation.
For decades, Rahmon’s regime has systematically eliminated independent political forces, physically targeted political leaders through repression, arbitrary arrests, intimidation, and mass killings. Opposition leaders, including Zaid Saidov, Muhammadruzi Iskandarov, Muhammadali Hait, Saidumar Husaini, Izzat Amon, Maksud Ibragimov, Faromuz Ergashov, Suhrobi Zafar, and thousands of other political activists, have been subjected to brutal persecution, unlawfully imprisoned, and tens of thousands have been forced into exile.
Call to the International Community
The Movement “Reforms and Development of Tajikistan” declares that the 2025 parliamentary elections are a fiction and an unconstitutional act that cannot be recognized as legitimate. In this regard, we:
• Refuse to recognize the election results and urge all democratic states, international organizations, and institutions to condemn this process as unconstitutional.
• Demand the imposition of sanctions against Emomali Rahmon’s regime and individuals responsible for electoral fraud, suppression of opposition, and gross human rights violations.
• Call on international organizations to increase pressure on Rahmon’s regime to restore democratic institutions and ensure genuine political reforms.
• Emphasize that the future of Tajikistan is possible only through genuine democratic transformation, not through the simulation of electoral procedures.
The people of Tajikistan have an inalienable right to free expression of will, real choice, and participation in the governance of their country. We will continue our struggle for the restoration of constitutional order, justice, and the protection of citizens’ rights.
Without free elections, there is no democracy. Without democracy, there is no future!
Sharofiddin Gadoev
Chairman of the Movement “Reforms and Development of Tajikistan”
March 3, 2025, Amsterdam
