Serdar Berdymukhamedov, 40-year old son of Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, attends a meeting in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Aug 21, 2021. (ALEXANDER VERSHININ / AP)
ASHGABAT – Serdar Berdymukhamedov, the son of outgoing Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, won a snap election with 73 percent of the vote and will succeed his father, the Central Asian nation's Central Election Commission said on Tuesday.
Serdar Berdymukhamedov is commonly referred to by local media as "the son of the nation," while his 64-year-old father – who intends to stay on as the speaker of the upper house – is known as Arkadag, or Protector
The victory of 40-year-old Serdar Berdymukhamedov was widely expected after his father elevated him to the No 2 position in the country as a deputy prime minister, clearly indicating that he was the designated successor.
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There are no strong political opposition groups in the gas-rich desert nation of six million which borders Iran and Afghanistan in the south.
Eight other candidates ran in the election, some of them largely unknown low-level public servants. Under the Turkmen constitution, the president is elected for a seven-year term.
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Serdar Berdymukhamedov is commonly referred to by local media as "the son of the nation," while his 64-year-old father – who intends to stay on as the speaker of the upper house – is known as Arkadag, or Protector.