Turkmenistan Restricts Presidential Prerogatives

A statue of former President Niyazov in Ashgabat (file photo) (epa)
March 20, 2007 -- Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has abolished the power of the country's president to rename institutions and geographic locations and redraw administrative borders.

State media report that only parliament will be able to do so from now on.

Berdymukhammedov's predecessor, Saparmurat Niyazov, who died in December 2006, established a cult of personality, naming cities, schools, and even months of the year after himself and members of his family.

(AP)

Turkmenistan Restricts Presidential Prerogatives

A statue of former President Niyazov in Ashgabat (file photo) (epa)March 20, 2007 -- Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has abolished the power of the country's president to rename institutions and geographic locations and redraw administrative borders.

A statue of former President Niyazov in Ashgabat (file photo) (epa)
March 20, 2007 -- Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has abolished the power of the country's president to rename institutions and geographic locations and redraw administrative borders.