The Central Asian country of Tajikistan has voted to abolish presidential term limits solely for their authoritarian president, Emomali Rahmon. The decision will effectively allow him to rule until the end of his life.
An overwhelming 94.5 percent of voters were in favor of the amendment to the national constitution, which also lowered the minimum age for Tajik presidential candidates to 30, apparently so Rahmon's 29-year-old son can run in the 2020 election.
While human rights groups have criticized the former USSR nation for the lack of religious freedom for its predominantly Sunni Muslim population as well as its rejection of political pluralism, many voters were apparently enthusiastic about keeping Rahmon in power. "Rahmon brought us peace, he ended the war, and he should rule the country for as long as he has the strength to," one voter told AFP.
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In 2015, democracy watchdog Freedom House rated Tajikistan with a Democracy Score of 6.39, with 7 being the worst. "Observers of the most recent parliamentary (2010) and presidential (2013) elections noted that both contests failed to meet basic democratic standards or offer a real choice among candidates," the organization said.
Rahmon, 63, has been in power since 1992.
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