Voter Apathy in Tajikistan

IFES has just published a summary of its recent public opinion poll addressing Tajikistan's upcoming parliamentary election. The poll notes a lack of interest and engagement on the part of respondents. The OSCE's preliminary report indicates that the campaign has been correspondingly "low key." While political observers note that the party-of-power, the People's Democratic Party, is expected to gain most seats, other parties might marginally improve their status. Notably, RFE/RL suggests that the Islamic Renaissance Party could improve its seat total from two to ten. Tajikistan uses a mixed electoral system, allocating 41 of its 63 total seats to constituencies with a majority-runoff rule and the remaining 22 to a party-list component.