Five more years for president

Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov has won a new five-year term by capturing 97 per cent of the vote.

Mr Berdymukhamedov improved on his 2007 performance, in which he secured his first term in the Central Asian nation with 89 per cent of the vote.

All of his seven opponents praised his leadership in their campaigns, making the authoritarian leader’s victory in this weekend’s election a mere formality.

Central Election Commission chief Orazmyrat Niyazliyev called the vote democratic and said it contributed to national unity.

Mr Berdymukhamedov, a 54-year-old dentist, came to power in 2006.