nCa Report
Ashgabat, 17 February 2017 (nCa) — Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov took oath Friday for his third term as president of Turkmenistan.
It was a self-administered oath in a compact and elegant ceremony at the Ruhiyet Palace (Spirituality Palace) in Ashgabat.
Berdymuhamedov placed his right hand on the new edition of the Constitution of Turkmenistan as he read the prescribed text of the oath while a copy of the Holy Quran was also placed at the lectern.
The hall that can seat more than 2500 was packed to capacity. The participants included the notable elders, the cabinet of ministers and other top officials, the chairman and members of the parliament, the heads of diplomatic missions and international organizations based in Turkmenistan, students, and local and foreign media.
At the start of the ceremony the chairman of the election commission handed the document to Berdymuhamedov certifying his victory in the recently held presidential elections. Eight other candidates on tickets from various political parties and initiative groups also took part in the elections.
After taking the oath, Berdymuhamedov made a speech, highlighting the priority areas during the next seven years of his presidency.
In addition to the known and ongoing programmes that he said will continue, Berdymuhamedov mentioned that the Elders Council will be given more powers this year, allowing them to take decisions on certain issues that are currently dealt with by the cabinet of ministers and other higher authorities. The Turkmen leader said that mechanism will be formalized during the session of the Elders Council later this year.
He said that the Ombudsman’s office will soon start functioning in Turkmenistan.
The translation of the speech of Berdymuhamedov will be presented in the Bulletin next week.
After the ceremony, the foreign minister of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov conducted a press conference which quickly turned into a dialogue between the foreign minister and the heads of foreign missions and international organizations based in Turkmenistan. Some selected passages from the encounter will be presented in the Bulletin next week.
Here are some pictures from the oath-taking ceremony:
