DUSHANBE, Tajikistan — A son of Tajik leader Emomali Rakhmon has been nominated by his father's party to run in city council elections this month in what a Western diplomat said could signal a succession plan.
Succession is a critical issue in Central Asia, where no leader has been voted out in elections judged free and fair by Western monitors.
A list of candidates running for the Tajik capital Dushanbe's local legislature released Friday showed that Rustami Emomali, one of Rakhmon's two sons, was running for a seat.
Rustami Emomali has risen to prominence in the last year, chairing the Youth Union and joining the ranks of senior officials of his father's People's Democratic Party, prompting speculation that Rakhmon, 56, may be grooming a successor.
"Obviously, such a fast promotion in the circles of power is telling," said a Western diplomat in Dushanbe who asked not to be named. "Maybe, in 2020 … or in 2027 … [Emomali] will emerge as a successor who may be publicly announced."
Rakhmon's current term in office expires in 2013, and he can run for another seven-year term. The diplomat said the laws might be amended to allow Rakhmon another term afterward.
Elections for local legislatures will run on the same day as the Feb. 28 parliamentary election, which the PDP is sure to win despite simmering discontent in the Muslim nation, analysts say.
Tajikistan, an impoverished nation with a long border with Afghanistan, has been ruled by Rakhmon since 1992. The poorest country in the former Soviet Union, Tajikistan depends largely on transfers from migrant laborers and is struggling to overcome devastation caused by a civil war in the 1990s.
Rustami Emomali's age is not officially known. Rakhmon has two sons and seven daughters. One of his daughters works as a deputy foreign minister.
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