e's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative
body of up to 2,500 delegates, some of whom are elected by popular
vote and some of whom are appointed; meets at least yearly) and a
unicameral Parliament or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by
popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003; Mejlis - last
held 19 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009)
election results: Mejlis - DPT 100%; seats by party - DPT 50; note -
all 50 elected officials are members of the Democratic Party of
Turkmenistan and are preapproved by President NIYAZOV
note: in late 2003, a new law was adopted, reducing the powers of
the Mejlis and making the Halk Maslahaty the supreme legislative
organ; the Halk Maslahaty can now legally dissolve the Mejlis, and
the president is now able to participate in the Mejlis as its
supreme leader; the Mejlis can no longer adopt or amend the
constitution, or announce referendums or its elections; since the
president is both the "Chairman for Life" of the Halk Maslahaty and
the supreme leader of the Mejlis, the 2003 law has the effect of
making him the sole authority of both the executive and legislative
branches of government

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)

Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small
opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries; the
two most prominent opposition groups-in-exile have been Gundogar and
Erkin; Gundogar was led by former Foreign Minister Boris
SHIKHMURADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the wake of the 25
November 2002 assassination attempt on President NIYAZOV; Erkin is
led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based out of
Moscow; the Union of Democratic Forces, a coalition of
opposition-in-exile groups, is based in Europe

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU,
MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mered Bairamovich ORAZOV
chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue