Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia (Plurinational State of) Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia Democratic People's Republic of Korea Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran (Islamic Republic of) Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia (Federated States of) Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Republic of Korea Republic of Moldova Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka State of Palestine Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Tajikistan Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Türkiye Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland United Republic of Tanzania United States of America Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Viet Nam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe
Turkmenistan
Women in decision-making positions
22%
Members of local deliberative bodies are women (1,294 elected women)
No woman is Head of State/Government
26%
Parliamentarians are women
No data available on women ministers

Government organization

Spheres of government

Turkmenistan is a unitary republic with two spheres of government: central and local.

One tier of central government and one tier of local government composed of towns, villages, rural councils, and the boroughs of Türkmenbaşy.

  • Head of State: The President of Turkmenistan is directly elected by voters.
  • Head of Government: The President of Turkmenistan is the Head of State and Head of Government.
  • Legislative body: The Mejlis (Parliament) is a unicameral legislature whose members are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Cabinet of Ministers consists of the deputies of the Chairperson of the Cabinet of Ministers and the ministers. The President of Turkmenistan is the Chairperson of the Cabinet of Ministers and is responsible forming the composition of the Cabinet of Ministers.

  • Organization: Local self-government is organized into one tier of town-level units (gengeshlyks) composed of rural councils, villages, towns and the boroughs of Türkmenbaşy. There are also two tiers of local representative bodies, regional-level units and district-level units, which are considered administrative due to lack of competency.
  • Competencies: Local government is responsible for adopting a local budget, developing and seeking approval for programs for social and economic development, and holds a decision-making authority.
  • Ministerial oversight: The Ministry of Internal Affairs

Overview of local government

Local government composition

Deliberative body: The local council (gengesh) is composed of elected members. A local head (archyn) is elected by and from the local council to preside over it; the local head is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The local head is the executive of the town level of government.

Local government elections

Electoral system: majority/plurality (two-round system)

  • Each local government area is divided into single-member constituencies, each returning one member to the council. A candidate who received in elections more than a half of the votes of voters who participated in voting shall be deemed to have been elected. When no candidate has been elected, repeat voting in a constituency between the two candidates who have received the largest number of votes within a two-week period after the general elections takes place.

Electoral system for governor and local head: no direct elections or appointment

  • Governors are appointed; local heads are elected by and from the council.

Source: Electoral Code, 2013 (amended through 2020), articles 1, 76, 79 and 80

  • Gender quotas: No
  • Additional quotas: No

  • Term length: 5 years
  • Last local elections: 2018
  • Next local elections: 2023

Central Commission for Holding Elections and Referendums

National legal framework on local government

  • Constitution of Turkmenistan, 2008 (amended through 2016);
  • Electoral Code, 2013 (amended through 2020);
  • Law on the Election of Members of Gengeshes, 2009;
  • Law on Local Councils, 2003;
  • Law on Local Representative Bodies, 2011 (amended through 2020);
  • Law on Local Executive Bodies, 2010 (amended through 2019).

There are constitutional provisions that establish local government in Turkmenistan. According to Articles 7, 109, and 115 of the Constitution of 2008 (amended through 2016), “Local self-government shall be acknowledged and guaranteed. Local self-government shall be independent within the limits of its competence. Local self-government bodies shall not be a part of the state authority bodies system. Local self-government systems consist of Gengeshes and bodies of territorial public self-government. Gengeshes are representative bodies whose Members shall be elected by citizens of Turkmenistan residing in the respective administrative-territorial units.”

Parliament is responsible for establishing the national legal framework on local government. The key piece of legislation which regulate local government is the Law on Local Councils of 2003 which defines the legal basis of activity and procedures and powers of local representative bodies and local executive authorities.

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2025.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 1 December 2025.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2025.

4. UN Women: Data on share of women Cabinet ministers as of 1 January 2025.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2023.