Politics of Tajikistan - Executive Branch

Executive Branch

The sections that follow incorporate text from the Library of Congress Country Study: Tajikistan Country Profile (January 2007), which is a United States government publication in the public domain.

The president, who is directly elected, is both the head of state and the head of government. The president appoints the prime minister and all the members of the government, with parliamentary approval. Tajikistan is thus a presidential republic. Tajikistan held a constitutional referendum on 22 June 2003 and the 2003 Constitution, among other amendments, set a limit of two seven-year terms for the president. Emomalii Rahmon's election to the office of the president in 2006 counts as his first 7-year term under the 2003 Constitution, and in principle he may be re-elected for a second term in 2013, remaining in office until 2020.

In this geographically divided country, the ceremonial position of prime minister traditionally is held by a person from the north to nominally balance President Emomalii Rakhmon’s southern origin. In 2004 the executive branch fell further under the control of the governing party as appointments by Rakhmon left the opposition with only 5 percent of major government positions. This event followed the expiration of the 1997 peace guarantee that the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) would occupy at least 30 percent of top government positions. Prior to the 2006 election, the Council of Ministers, which executes the decisions of the president, included two deputy prime ministers, 19 ministers, nine committee heads, and several ex officio members. After the election, Rakhmon abolished 10 ministries and five state committees and reappointed Oqil Oqilov as prime minister. Rakhmon is said to have accumulated substantial informal power through patronage.