EU Deputy Says Turkmenistan's Election Not Real

In an interview with RFE/RL's Turkmen Service, Albert Jan Maat, who is also a European Parliament deputy, argued that the presidential poll might not be a reason for optimism.

"These elections, only with candidates from the former government -- you can't call them real elections, and that is not a [good] start for a more open society," he said.

Maat said he favored a delay for the vote so that the opposition can file candidates and the international community can send observers. There are six candidates in the election, but all are former government officials.

The election is widely expected to fall short of Western democratic standards.