At Stake in this Election: 

• All 125 seats of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan * 

* Provincial and district assemblies (halk maslahatler) and local councils (geňeşler) will be elected on the same date. 

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: President Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 19 March 2022) 

• Head of Government: President Serdar BERDIMUHAMEDOW (since 19 March 2022) 

• Assembly: a unicameral Assembly (Mejlis) with 125 seats 

Electoral System:  

• The President is directly elected by absolute majority vote in up to two rounds. The presidential term is 7 years, and there are no term limits. 

• All 125 members of the Mejlis are elected by absolute majority vote (via up to two rounds of voting) in single-seat constituencies. Members serve 5-year terms. 

Last Election: 

In the 2018 general election, the Democratic party won 56 seats, while the Agrarian Party won 48, and the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs won 11.  Voter turnout was 91.69%. 

New/Unique in this Election:  

Turkmenistan had a bicameral National Council (Milli Geňeşy) from 2021 to January of 2023, when the council voted to convert the upper house (People’s Council / Halk Maslahaty) into a body of appointed officials with broad powers over domestic and foreign policy as well as constitutional amendments. This change left the Mejlis as the country’s unicameral legislative body. 

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline: 28 February 2023 

• Voter registration deadline: N/A 

• Passive voter registration occurs at the local level, and potential voters can request to be added to the official voter list up to and including election day. 

Main Candidates in this Election:  

• Democratic Party / Türkmenistanyň Demokratik Partiýasy (TDP) 

• Leader: Ata SEDAROW 

• Seats won in last election: 56 out of 125 

• Agrarian Party / Türkmenistanyň Agrar Partiýasy (TAP) 

• Leader: Rejik BAZAROW 

• Seats won in last election: 48 out of 125 

• Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Party / Türkmenistanyň Senagatçylar we Telekeçiler partiýasy (TSTP) 

• Leader: Saparmyrat OWGANOW 

• Seats won in last election: 11 out of 125 

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 5,690,818 (2023 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 3,460,080 (2022) 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 2,874,151 (2023 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Ratified (by accession) 1 May 1997 

• Gender Quota:  No 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 30/116 (25.9%) in the Mejlis 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.745, High, Rank 91 (2021 est.)  

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A (2019)  

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Ratified (by accession) 4 September 2008 

• Projected population with a disability: 853,623 (2023 est.) 

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Turkmenistan: No 

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgements: Yes, 1 resource