DUSHANBE, July 4, 2016, Asia-Plus – Ismoil Talbakov, who had previously served as Deputy Chairman of the Communist Party of Tajikistan (CPT), has been elected to head the party, replacing Shodi Shabdolov.  The 72-year-old Shodi Shabdolov had been leader of the Communist Party of Tajikistan since 1991.

The 32nd report-and-election congress of the party took place in Dushanbe on July 2.  79 delegates from all regions of the country attended the congress and election of new leader of the party was the main issue on the congress’s agenda.      

Speaking at the congress, the delegates pointed to the necessity of renewal of the party leadership.  Representative of the CPT organization for Sughd province, Safarali Erkayev, in particular, called on the Communists to unite behind “the Leader of the Nation President Emomali Rahmon.” 

Ismoil Talbakov and Shodi Shabdolov nominated their candidacies.  Ismoil Talbakov won the election with 35 votes , whith his opponent, Shodi Shabdolov, garnering 22 votes.  

Ismoil Talbakov was born in Khatlon’s Temourmalik district (formerly Sovet district in Kulob region) on March 24, 1955.  He graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Tajik National University in 1976.

Talbakov was deputy of Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower house of parliament) of the second, third and fourth convocations.    

We will recall that the Communist Party of Tajikistan has lost its two seats in parliament as it failed to pass a 5-percent threshold to get into Majlisi Namoyandagon in March 2015.

Founded in 1918, the Communist Party of Tajikistan was registered in 1991.  According to some sources, the party now has 37,000 members.