Turkmenistan calls snap election to replace strongman leader

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) — Turkmenistan will hold snap presidential elections after the country’s authoritarian leader announced he is ready to relinquish power to a new generation. President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s statement that the country should be directed by younger people appeared to suggest that his son Serdar would succeed him; the son has risen through a series of increasingly prominent government posts and is now the deputy chairman of the Cabinet. The presidential election is to be held on March 12, the parliament declared on Saturday. No election in post-Soviet Turkmenistan has been considered free or fair; although eight candidates ran against Berdymukhamedov in the last election in 2017, all expressed support for his government and Berdymukhamedov tallied more than 97% of the vote.