President Xi Jinping (L) and his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon hold talks in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, June 15, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]
President Xi Jinping on Monday congratulated Emomali Rahmon on his reelection as Tajikistan's president, saying that he will work with Rahmon to push forward bilateral ties so as to benefit both countries and their peoples.
In his congratulatory message, Xi said that China and Tajikistan are good neighbors, friends and partners that support and trust each other, and recent years have witnessed great advances in bilateral relations.
He said that the two countries have been at the forefront of building a community with a shared future for mankind by first announcing the joint building of the China-Tajikistan development community and security community, which has set a good example for the international community.
Xi said that he highly values developing China's relations with Tajikistan and will work with his Tajikistan counterpart to bring the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level.
According to the preliminary results announced on Monday by the central commission for elections and referendums, Rahmon won Sunday's presidential election in a landslide victory, beating four other candidates.
The commission said Rahmon, from the ruling People's Democratic Party, scored 3.8 million votes, or 90.9 percent of the total. Candidates from the Agrarian Party and the Economic Reforms Party garnered 3.3 percent and 2.15 percent, respectively, ranking second and third.
On Sunday, 4.2 million citizens cast their ballots, with the voter turnout totaling 85.39 percent.
According to Tajik law, a presidential election will be declared valid if more than 50 percent of registered voters cast their ballots. The winner should garner more than half of the votes.
The election was held in a transparent and democratic atmosphere, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, said Bakhtiyor Khudoerzoda, chairman of the commission.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the situation at all polling stations was stable, while citizens actively participated in the voting.
Sunday's election was monitored by 145 international observers from international organizations including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Commonwealth of Independent States. In addition, 267 representatives of local and foreign media covered the election process, the central commission said, adding that the final results will be announced no later than two weeks.
Rahmon was born in 1952. He was elected president in 1994, and reelected in 1999, 2006 and 2013.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Monday that the election results fully showed that Rahmon's domestic and foreign policies have been widely supported and highly recognized by the Tajikistan people.
"We believe that new progress will continue to be achieved in various areas in Tajikistan under the leadership of President Rahmon," Zhao said at a regular news conference in Beijing.
Xinhua contributed to this story.
