UPDATE - Voting concludes for parliamentary elections in Turkmenistan

UPDATES WITH MORE INFORMATION

By Merdan Velhanov

ASHGABAT (AA) – Voting in parliamentary elections in the Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan wrapped up on Sunday.

Voters headed to the polls to choose members of the Assembly of Turkmenistan and local government bodies, who will remain in office for five years. In total, 258 candidates competed for 125 seats in the assembly.

Over 2,644 ballot boxes were set up across the country, and the election ended at 7 p.m. local time (1400GMT).

The Central Elections and Referendums Board announced that there are more than 3.4 million registered voters in the country.

Over 3.1 million voters went to the polls for the parliamentary elections, with a turnout of 91.12%.

Türkiye on Sunday expressed pleasure over the elections, saying they were held in a “peaceful and calm” atmosphere.

“We attach importance to the stability of friendly and brotherly Turkmenistan, and hope that the results of the elections will be auspicious for the Turkmen people,” said a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement.

* Diyar Guldogan in Ankara contributed to this story​​​​​​​