We Held An Election & Nobody Came

Turkmenistan has a "rubber stamp" parliment it seems. Not that unusual among the former Soviet republics. What's unusual is that this time, when said rubber stamp parliment held elections, nobody showed up. From the Guardian:

Polling stations were nearly empty Sunday in elections for Turkmenistan's rubber-stamp parliament, forcing officials to carry ballot boxes door-to-door in this nation ruled by a former Soviet Communist boss who has been declared president-for-life.

The 131 candidates contesting Parliament's 50 seats all represent the Central Asian country's only party, the Democratic Party led by President Saparmurat Niyazov.

Niyazov reduced Parliament's role in 2003, stripping it of the right to make constitutional changes, and made the People's Council - a hand-picked assembly of more than 2,000 top officials and elders headed by himself - the country's highest legislative body. He uses the council to legitimize decisions.

At least 50 percent of voters had to take part to make the election valid. Election officials said 61.38 percent of eligible voters cast ballots during the first four hours.

However, polling stations in the capital of Ashgabat were almost empty. Election officials went door to door, carrying ballot boxes and voting slip, asking people to cast their vote.

And people wonder where fundamentalist Islam gets its legs in these countries ...