Turkmens vote in presidential elections

In Turkmenistan, people have gone to the polls to cast their ballots in the Central Asian country’s presidential elections. Eight candidates are running against the country’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who is expected to win a landslide victory. Berdymukhamedov, 54, won almost 90 percent of the vote in the 2007 presidential election. With another eight hours left to vote, nearly 48 percent of the electorate had cast their ballots. Turkmenistan has less than three million eligible voters. The election is the country’s third since its post-Soviet era. Some analysts say the election is an attempt by the government to present an image of democracy in Turkmenistan. Berdymukhamedov came to power after the death of Saparmurat Niyazov in 2006. In 1992, Niyazov, being the only candidate, was elected as the country’s first president. Later in 1999, the parliament declared him president for life.