The second day of the Warsaw Conference took place without representatives from Tajikistan

The second day of the Warsaw Conference on Human Dimension of the OSCE was dedicated to the topic of “Democratic Institutions.” The Tajik opposition was represented by Rustam Rahmatzoda, a representative of the Political Movement “Group 24” in Germany. In his speech, he emphasized the lack of free and democratic elections in Tajikistan and the absence of opportunities for citizens to participate in the political and public life of the country.

Pointing to the presidential elections of 2020 in Tajikistan, Rustam Rahmatzoda stated that “five candidates participated in the elections. Rahmon received 92 percent of the votes. However, other candidates were unable to even gather the number of votes they allegedly received for registration as presidential candidates.”

The Tajik opposition figure called all presidential candidates “Rahmon’s puppets” and emphasized that the authorities did not register a genuine candidate, Faromuz Irgashev.

Photo: Internet

Rahmatzoda stated that Irgashev also intended to participate in the 2027 elections, but the authorities sentenced him to 30 years in prison.

The representative of “Group 24” reported during his speech that participation in politics is prohibited in Tajikistan for those who are not members of the ruling party, and followers of opposition parties face persecution both in the country and abroad.

“As soon as any political organization gains a certain level of recognition among the population and has followers, the authorities immediately declare it an extremist organization and ban its activities in the country, just like the Political Movement ‘Group 24’,” said Rustam Rahmatzoda.

On this day, no other representatives of the Tajik opposition spoke at the conference.

The next Warsaw Conference on Human Dimension, organized by the OSCE, will take place from October 2 to 13, 2023. The OSCE conference is held annually in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the conference was canceled in 2020 and 2021.

Last year, representatives of the governments of Russia, Belarus, and Tajikistan did not participate in the conference.

This year, representatives of these countries are also not participating. The reason for their absence is unknown.

At the OSCE Warsaw Conference on Human Dimension, Tajikistan is represented by opposition groups and activists abroad.

During the Warsaw Conference on Human Dimension, representatives of OSCE member states and civil society will discuss issues related to human rights, fundamental freedoms, freedom of speech and the press, the rights and freedoms of minorities, and more over the course of two weeks.

The Warsaw Conference on the Human Dimension of the Organization for Security and Cooperation. Representatives of governments and civil society from more than 55 countries participate in the conference annually. The Warsaw Conference on the Human Dimension is considered an important platform for representatives of authorities and opposition forces.