DUSHANBE, March 18, 2011, Asia-Plus -- The Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER) of Tajikistan has endorsed the membership of an electoral commission for parliamentary by-election (special election) that will take place in Dushanbe’s constituency # 4 (Sino district) on May 15.

The source at the CCER says five of eight officially registered political parties have nominated their candidates for the electoral commission.  “Representatives of Communist, Democratic, Islamic Revival, People’s Democratic and Social-Democratic parties have been included into the electoral commission,” he said, noting that four of nine members of the commission are unaffiliated persons.

According to him, Agrarian and Socialist parties as well the Party of Economic Reforms have refused to nominate their representatives for the electoral commission.

The by-election will be called following appointment of Shermuhammad Shohiyon who formerly represented this constituency in the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) as the CCER chairman.

40,500 somoni have been allocated from the national budget for holding the by-election in Dushanbe’s constituency # 4.  79 polling stations will be set up in this constituency that numbers some 100,000 voters.