Former Turkmen Presidential candidate in prison

In the meantime, contestants for the Presidential elections are being nominated in Turkmenistan. Let us recall that during the previous Presidential elections, held in February 2007, six candidates ran for office. We tried to find out how their political careers were shaped after the 2007 elections.

Back then the Presidential candidate and Turkmenistan’s Deputy Minister of Oil and Gas Industry and Mineral Resources Ishanguly Nuryev collected 2,38% of votes taking the third place. The incumbent G. Berdymukhammedov secured 89,23% of the votes during the first elections.

According to our sources, I. Nuryev was arrested a month after the elections and was sentenced to a lengthy imprisonment term. One of his sons, who worked in the Ashgabat Department of the Interior, following his father’s arrest was degraded to the post of district police inspector and was later dismissed from the Interior Department forever.

The decree on dismissing I. Nuryev from the post of deputy minister was not published. The Turkmen mass media made no further mention of his name. Previously Nuryev was awarded with the order “Altyn Asyr” (Golden age) of III class, medals “Gayrat” (Courage) and “Watana bolan soygusi ucin” (for love of the homeland).

Ashirniyaz Pomanov, another candidate with 1, 31% of the votes was dismissed from the post of khyakim of the city of Turkmenbashi in April 2009 for “shortcomings in his work” Reportedly he was accused of unauthorized use of funds allocated for the construction of the recreation zone “Avaza”. We failed to confirm or refute this information from other sources and find out further details.

Another candidate running for the Presidential elections – Orazmurad Garadjaev, who had occupied the post of the khyakim of Abadan and received 1,55% of the votes, was relieved from his post after the elections. No information about his further fate is available. According to official data, in 2008 another person, Orazgeldy Datdovov was the khyakim of Abadan.

Mukhammetnazar Gurbanov, who according to 2007 elections results, secured 2,37% of the votes, the former khyakim of the Karabekaul etrap in the Lebap velayat is no longer occupying this post.

Arguably, the only of those candidates who lost in the elections but completed his career in a trouble-free manner is Amanyaz Atajikov (received 3,23% of ballots cast) – the first deputy khyakim of the Dashoguz velayat. After the elections he was appointed to the position of khyakim of the Gerogly etrap (formerly, Takhta) in the Dashoguz velayat and then was urged to retire. As of the time of elections, he was 60 y.o.

During the 2007 election campaign, the Turkmen mass media portrayed the aforementioned candidates as the most promising. Yet, both the political and professional career of almost all former Presidential candidates, except G. Berdymukhammedov, quickly collapsed. Their fate is unenviable.

At the same time, new candidates, who will be pretending to compete with the incumbent President in the upcoming elections scheduled to be held in February 2012, are under discussion in the presidential administration. Most likely, the fate of their predecessors awaits newly “appointed Presidential candidates”.