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Serdar Berdimuhamedov is following in his father's footsteps
Photo:
IGOR SASIN / AFP
According to official figures, the president's son Serdar Berdimuhamedow won the presidential elections in autocratically ruled Turkmenistan.
The election commission announced on its website that the 40-year-old received 73 percent of the votes in last Saturday's election.
The son of the incumbent head of state, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, is to be inaugurated next Saturday.
No serious opposition
There was no doubt about Berdimuhamedov's election victory.
The dictator's son currently serves as Deputy Prime Minister.
The current president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, announced a month ago that he was retiring from the presidency for reasons of age.
But he obviously wants to stay in politics.
He aspires to chair the upper chamber of Parliament.
The Turkmen state system is considered one of the most repressive in the world.
Little is known about the political decision-making processes.
According to observers, elections in the former Soviet republic are neither free nor fair.
Since Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedowhat took office, there has never been a serious opposition candidate.
svs/AFP