In November 1992, the communist politician E. Rachmonov became Head of State (initially President of Parliament, elected President from November 1994, confirmed in office for a further seven years in November 1999). The ongoing civil war battles v. a. escalated in the border area with Afghanistan when the Muslim forces received support from Afghan mujahideen and Russian troops stationed in the conflict region intervened in the fighting from 1993 onwards. On June 21, 1993, the most important opposition groups (including the HD, NIT and “Rastochez”) were banned. By 1996 opposition groups had brought almost the entire east of the country under their control; the civil war claimed around 100,000 lives. On October 20, 1994, a ceasefire brokered by Iran, Russia and the UN entered into force,
One on June 27, 1997 by President Rachmonov and the opposition leader Said Abdullo Nuri (* 1947, † 2006)The peace agreement signed in Moscow, which provided for the formation of a “National Council of Reconciliation” and further measures to regulate the conflict politically, created the conditions for an amnesty, the return of refugees and the participation of the opposition in the government. Nevertheless, battles broke out repeatedly in the period that followed; There were also attacks on the Russian troops, but also on representatives of international organizations. In the summer of 1998, the first members of the rebel troops were sworn in to the constitution and additional members of the opposition were accepted into the government. Following a fundamental constitutional reform passed in September 1999, which, among other things, allowed the activity of religious parties, the first parliamentary elections after the civil war took place on February 27, 2000, from which the People’s Democratic Party (HDKT) emerged as the strongest force with 64.5% of the vote, ahead of the CP and the third-place pro-Islamic opposition. As a sign of the formal conclusion of the Tajik peace process, the “National Council of Reconciliation” was dissolved one day before the constitution of the new bicameral parliament in March 2000. Nevertheless, the domestic political situation remained unstable, as not all clan and gang leaders ended their rebellion. In addition, Tajikistan developed into a transit country for drug trafficking from Afghanistan; during the Taliban rule in this neighboring country it supported the v. a. Afghan Northern Alliance supported by Tajiks and Uzbeks.
According to aceinland, a constitutional amendment (referendum in June 2003) made it possible for President Rachmonov , whose government was increasingly authoritarian (including the arrest of political competitors) to run for two future terms of seven years each. The parliamentary elections held in February and March 2005, in which the HDKT recorded a 74% increase in the vote, were heavily criticized by OSCE observers with reference to massive forgery and the obstruction of the opposition in the election campaign. The presidential elections on November 6, 2006 (again criticized by the OSCE), for which the opposition had not put up its own candidates because of the lack of opportunities, were won by the incumbent, Vengmonov with officially 79.3% of the vote. In March 2007, he announced that he would use his surname without the Russian ending -ow and that he would therefore be called E. Rachmon. He wanted to demonstrate the return to the roots of the Tajik people, who were sacrificed to Russification during the Soviet era. On October 7, 2009, President E. Rachmon announced that Russian was no longer the second state language.
In the parliamentary elections on February 28, 2010, which the OSCE also criticized as undemocratic, the HDKT received 71.8% of the vote, according to the Central Election Commission. After the breakout of Islamic extremists from a prison in Dushanbe in August 2010, clashes with security forces broke out. On July 24, 2012, at least 42 people were killed in fighting between government troops and local gangs in the city of Khorog. The operation was ordered to regain government influence in the region near the Afghan border. After popular protests, the central government agreed at the end of August 2012 to withdraw its troops from the region. In the presidential election on November 6, 2013, which in turn provoked criticism from OSCE election observers, E. Rachmon confirmed in office with 83.6% of the votes. The parliamentary elections on March 1, 2015, in which the HDKT received 65.4% of the vote, did not change the existing internal political balance of power. A revision of the constitution, which was approved by referendum on May 22, 2016, gave E. Rachmon the opportunity to run for the next presidential election in 2020.
Tajikistan has been a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States since December 1991. In May 2001 it joined the NATO program “Partnership for Peace” at (Framework document signed in February 2002). After the terrorist attacks on the USA on September 11, 2001, Tajikistan also joined the international anti-terrorist coalition (cooperation with the American armed forces, including an offer to use military bases). At the same time, Tajikistan pursued a security policy analogy to Russia, which until 2005 secured the Tajik-Afghan border (mainly to stop drug trafficking) and maintains a military base in the country. In 2007, Tajikistan signed a treaty of good neighborliness, friendship and cooperation with China. In 2008, President E. Rachmon’s government hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization SummitIt was decided to intensify economic, political and military cooperation. In 2013 Tajikistan became a member of the WTO.
