Elections in Turkmenistan

The Mejlis, Turkmenistan’s parliament, calls elections, while the Central Commission for holding Elections and Referendums coordinates their organization for a five-year term. Regional, district and city commissions operate below it, followed by local Gengesh and polling-station commissions. Local authorities provide voter data. Elections cannot be held during a state of emergency or war. Regular voting usually takes place from 07:00 to 19:00, and the Mejlis should call an election no later than three months before the relevant term ends. The next regular presidential and Mejlis elections had not been officially called by 13 September 2026; the statutory orientation is around 2029 for the presidency and around 2028 for the Mejlis, subject to an earlier election. Citizens aged 18 or older may vote. A court-declared legally incapacitated person or a person in custody is excluded, while no general legal duty to vote has been established. Voters normally identify themselves with a passport or identity document. Since 22 November 2025, a unified state voter register has provided a centralized digital system, while polling-station lists still use data from local authorities, military units, institutions, detention facilities and diplomatic missions. Lists should be available for inspection at least 15 days before voting. A person missing from the list can request addition with a passport or identity document, and complaints about the list can be filed within up to two days or immediately before or on election day. Voting is personal; proxy voting is not permitted. Each election uses a separate ballot. A ballot is invalid if it uses the wrong form, contains more than one mark, has no mark, adds a name or marks a withdrawn candidate. A damaged ballot can be replaced under the applicable procedure. Presidential elections are direct, and a candidate must be a Turkmen citizen born in Turkmenistan, at least 40 years old, able to use the state language and have lived or worked continuously in Turkmenistan for at least 15 years. The president serves a seven-year term. The Mejlis has 125 directly elected seats in 125 constituencies, normally for five years. A Mejlis candidate must be at least 25 years old and have maintained permanent residence in Turkmenistan for at least 10 years. The candidate receiving more than half of the votes cast is elected. If no candidate reaches that level in a contest with at least three candidates, a runoff between the two leading candidates should take place within two weeks; the runoff is decided by relative majority. Local voters directly elect members of regional, district and city Halk Maslahaty bodies and Gengeshes. The national Halk Maslahaty has been the highest representative body since January 2023, but it is a mixed-composition body rather than a regularly directly elected national parliamentary chamber. Parties must be registered before an election is called. Citizen groups may nominate candidates, with at least 200 eligible voters required for a Mejlis nomination group, 100 for a district or city Halk Maslahaty group and 50 for a Gengesh group. Each group may nominate one candidate per constituency. Nomination normally occurs 60 to 30 days before voting, and registration 50 to 25 days before voting. Presidential candidates are nominated at party congresses; Mejlis candidates are nominated through central, regional, district or city party bodies. Campaigning begins after registration and ends one day before voting. Registered candidates have equal legal campaign rights, including free television time between 19:00 and 23:00, with at least one hour distributed equally each day, and equal print-media space. In practice, the OSCE has reported a lack of genuine political alternatives, state-controlled media, severe information and internet restrictions, limits on candidate rights and insufficient independence of election administration. Voters who cannot attend may use early voting from no more than 10 days before election day. A registered voter who cannot reach the polling station because of health, disability or another substantiated obstacle may request voting outside the station, normally in writing or orally at least six hours before voting ends; a mobile ballot box must be handled by at least two commission members. Voting abroad takes place at diplomatic missions where the relevant arrangements are available. National observers, candidate representatives and media may observe voter lists, ballot boxes, early and mobile voting, ballot issuance, counting and protocols, but they may not interfere, fill out ballots, campaign or take part in the count. International observers require an invitation from the president or the Central Commission and accreditation by that commission; they bear their own costs. Polling-station commissions open ballot boxes only after voting ends. They count unused, used, invalid and cancelled ballots and votes for each candidate, record the figures in a protocol, read it aloud and send it immediately to the higher commission. A copy must be displayed at the polling station, and certified copies are available to candidates, representatives and observers. The competent commission or Central Commission publishes final results, while Mejlis mandates are recognized at the first sitting. Voters, candidates, their representatives, observers, media and election commissions may challenge electoral actions. Complaints normally go first to the higher election commission and then to a court. Decisions or actions of the Central Commission go to the Supreme Court. Registration decisions can be challenged in court within three days, and election results within three days after the higher commission’s preliminary decision. Courts generally decide within three days, immediately for complaints made on the day before or on election day, or within five days when additional examination is required. Voters do not pay a documented election fee; ballot printing and election administration are funded from the state budget. The latest full national election was held on 26 March 2023 for the Mejlis and local mandates. Official participation was 91.12 percent, with 258 candidates contesting 125 Mejlis seats. The reported seat distribution was 65 for the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, 24 for the Agrarian Party, 18 for the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and 18 for citizen groups. On 29 March 2026, by-elections and local elections produced 140 of 285 new district Halk Maslahaty members, five of nine Mejlis replacement mandates, three of nine regional or Ashgabat Halk Maslahaty mandates, 12 of 25 district or city Halk Maslahaty mandates and 203 of 426 Gengesh mandates. Official participation figures reached 91.14 percent for the new district Halk Maslahaty elections and 92.26 percent for the Mejlis replacement elections.