24 years ago there was a referendum on amendments to the Constitution of Tajikistan
It is believed that he had the greatest significance for the country.
On September 26, 1999, a national referendum on amendments to the Constitution of the republic was held in Tajikistan. This was the second popular referendum in the history of independent Tajikistan. The main amendments concerned increasing the presidential term from five to seven years and the establishment of a bicameral parliament.
The referendum was planned for the first half of 1998, but it was postponed indefinitely for various reasons. After lengthy debates between the government and the opposition, on June 30, 1999, the parliament of Tajikistan (at that time unicameral) finally approved the date of the referendum – September 26, 1999. At this time, the republic had a Constitution in force, adopted by a popular referendum in 1994, at the height of the civil war.
The referendum took place exactly on the appointed day, September 26, without any special incidents. Polling stations were open to voters from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
According to official data, the turnout at the elections was 92.53% – 2 million 591 thousand 905 people voted (citizens of the country with the right to vote numbered 2 million 800 thousand 947).
75.31% of Tajik citizens voted for the amendments to the Constitution, while 24.69% of voters voted against. 0.01% of ballots were declared invalid.
After the referendum, a bicameral parliament was created in Tajikistan, consisting of the Majlisi Milli (upper) and the Majlisi Namoyandagon (lower).
The term of office of the President of Tajikistan after the presidential elections on November 6, 1999 became seven years.
And the main opposition Islamist Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan was officially registered and received the right to participate in the next parliamentary elections in 2000, conditions were provided for the registration of religious organizations, freedom of speech was protected by law…
During the existence of the Tajik SSR, four Constitutions were adopted: – in 1929, 1931, 1937 and 1978. And today we remember how many times it changed over the years of independence, how many amendments were made to it and, most importantly, how much it cost us…
First edits
The country’s constitution was adopted at the most difficult time for Tajikistan, when the republic was plunged into civil war, negotiation processes between the conflicting parties were just beginning, and about a million Tajik citizens were in forced migration.
At the request of the warring parties, parliament introduced dozens of amendments to the country’s Constitution. Later, the head of the working group for developing the draft of the main document of the country, the then first deputy head of the Supreme Council of the country, Abdulmajid Dostiev, said that so many amendments had been made to the basic law that it was impossible to list them all.
The draft of the first Constitution of independent Tajikistan was published in the press for public discussion in the spring of 1993; for more than a year the people of the country could speak out on this issue.
True, given the situation at that time, there was no discussion as such – the people thought, first of all, about their safety and their daily bread.
On November 6, 1994, a referendum was held in Tajikistan on a new Constitution, which restored the post of president, and presidential elections were also held. Emomali Rakhmonov won them. Before this, the country lived according to the Constitution of the Tajik SSR, which was adopted back in the seventies of the 20th century.
The authors of the country’s basic law were such famous jurists as Ashurboy Imomov, Zarif Alizoda, Khalifabobo Khomidov, Shavkat Ismailov, Abdulmajid Dostiev.
Witnesses of those years say that the people were literally forced to vote for the new Constitution – the streets were filled with armed people, no one guaranteed safety.
“The Constitution was turned into a kind of “draft”
Over the course of 22 years, additions and changes were made to the Constitution of the country three times. The first amendments were made in 1999, the next referendum on amending the basic law of the country was held in 2003, and the third in May 2016.
Rakhmatillo Zoirov, chairman of the country’s Legal Consortium and former presidential adviser, says that due to inexperience, our officials have turned the Constitution into a kind of “draft.” In his opinion, the Constitution adopted in 1994, compared to the Constitutions of 1999, 2003 and 2016, was more stable.
“Then in 1994, the Constitution was not adopted in a hurry; people without political ambitions and interests worked on it, objectively,” he says. – It became unstable when additions and amendments began to be made to it later. The people who developed the amendments practically did not give the people a choice (at the 2016 referendum – ed.), giving them only the opportunity to answer “yes” or “no” regarding all 50 changes at once. Changes were made, as a result of which the shortcomings were not only not eliminated, they were increased, both quantitatively and qualitatively, Zoirov believed.
Major changes
The next Constitutional referendum in Tajikistan took place in September 1999. He, perhaps, had the greatest significance for the country.
A little less than four years later, in 2003, Tajikistan again decided to “amend” the Constitution. This time it was proposed to make 56 changes and amendments, the main of which again concerned the fourth chapter – and the new amendment made it possible to be elected president for two terms of seven years.
Legal experts then complained that the practice of introducing 56 additions and changes at once in one referendum was only in Tajikistan. Many were dissatisfied with the fact that Tajikistan made changes to the basic law twice over the course of nine years, which indicated the instability of the country’s Constitution.
The referendum on May 22, 2016 lifted the remaining restrictions on the “Leader of the Nation” – President Emomali Rahmon. In addition, the minimum age for presidential candidates has been reduced from 35 to 30 years. Many experts said that this measure, if desired, would allow the son of the head of state, 29-year-old Rustam Emomali, to nominate his candidacy for the presidency in 2020.
One of the most important amendments adopted at the last referendum was the ban on parties of a religious and atheistic nature.
Almost unanimously in favor
According to AP information from government circles, a total of over 40 million somoni was spent from the state budget of Tajikistan to conduct four Constitutional referendums.
In the 1994 referendum, of the total number of participating electorates, which amounted to 2 million 535 thousand 777 people, 90 percent voted “For”, 10% voted “Against”, there were no invalid ballots.
In the referendum on June 22, 2003, out of 2 million 436 thousand 496 people in the electorate, 92.8% voted “For”, 7.2% “Against”.
And at the last referendum – May 22, 2016, according to official data, the constitutional changes were approved by 96.6% of voters. The turnout, according to official data, was 92 percent.
Source: Asia Plus TJ
