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Tajikistan
Women in decision-making positions
No data on number of women in elected local deliberative bodies
No woman is Head of State or Government
27%
Parliamentarians are women
14%
Ministers are women

Government organization

Spheres of government

Tajikistan is a unitary republic with three spheres of government: central, intermediate (the Autonomous Region of Gorno-Badakhshanskaya), and local.

One tier of central government, one tier of partial intermediate government (Autonomous Region of Gorno-Badakhshanskaya), and three tiers of local government.

  • Head of State: The President is directly elected by voters.
  • Head of Government: The Prime Minister is appointed by a decree of the President, after the approval of the joint session of the Majlisi Milli and the Majlisi Namoyandagon.
  • Legislative body: The Majlisi Oli is a bicameral legislature, with an upper house (the Majlisi Milli) and a lower house (the Majlisi Namoyandagon). The Majlisi Oli is composed of members directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Government consists of the Prime Minister, the first deputy, deputies, ministers, and chairpersons of the state committees. Members of the Government are appointed by a presidential decree after approval of the joint session of the Majlisi Milli and the Majlisi Namoyandagon.

  • Legislative body: The People’s Assembly of Deputies of the Gorno-Badakhshanskaya Autonomous Region is the unicameral legislature of the Autonomous Region of Gorno-Badakhshanskaya, whose members are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Chairperson of the Gorno-Badakhshanskaya Autonomous Region is the executive of the Autonomous Region of Gorno-Badakhshanskaya who is appointed by the President of Tajikistan with the approval of the appropriate Majlis.

  • Organization: Local government is organized into three tiers: an upper tier of the regional-level local government units (13 districts of republican subordination (Ноҳияҳои тобеи ҷумҳурӣ), two regions (вилоятҳо), and the City of Dushanbe (Душанбе)), an intermediate tier of the district-level local government units (17 cities (шаҳрҳо) and 62 districts of regional subordination (ноҳияҳои тобеи вилоят)), and a lower tier of 402 settlement and village-level local government units.
  • Autonomies: Local government is responsible for approving the local budget, establishing local taxes and fees, adopting local acts, and managing local assets.

Overview of local government

Local government composition

Deliberative body: The people’s assembly of deputies (мачлиси халкии депутатхо) is composed of up to 70 elected deputies. An assembly chairperson is appointed to preside over the assembly; the assembly chairperson is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The assembly chairperson is the executive at the regional level of government.

Deliberative body: The people’s assembly of deputies (мачлиси халкии депутатхо) is composed of up to 40 elected deputies. An assembly chairperson is appointed to preside over the assembly; the assembly chairperson is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The assembly chairperson is the executive at the district level of government.  

Deliberative body: The jamoat assembly (ҷамъомади ҷамоат) is composed of 15-40 elected members. An assembly chairperson is elected by and from the assembly to preside over it; the assembly chairperson is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The jamoat council (шӯрои ҷамоатӣ) is composed of 7-11 total members, including the assembly chairperson.

Local government elections

Electoral system for deliberative bodies: majority/plurality (two-round system)

  • There have not been local elections in Tajikistan since 2000. However, by law, elections for local deliberative bodies take place by two-round majoritarian voting in uninominal election districts.
  • A candidate shall be considered elected upon receiving more than 50 percent of votes of voters who took part in voting. If more than two candidates for deputies have run for office in the constituency and neither one of them was not elected in the first round, the district electoral commission decides to hold a second round for the two candidates who received the highest number votes; a candidate shall be considered elected if they receive more votes than the other candidate in the repeat voting.

Electoral system for executive bodies: no direct elections, appointment

  • Assembly chairpersons are appointed, except at the settlement and village level, where they are elected by and from the council.

Sources: Law on the Bodies of Local Self-Government of Villages and Settlements, 2009 (amended through 2019), articles 31, 40 and 41; Law on the Election of Deputies to Local Majlises of People’s Deputies, 1999 (amended through 2019), articles 1, 7, 42 and 46

  • Gender quotas: No
  • Additional quotas: No

  • Term length: 5 years
  • Last local elections: 2000
  • Next local elections: 2020

Central Commission on Elections and Referenda of Tajikistan; district electoral commissions

National legal framework on local government

  • Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan, 1994 (amended through 2016);
  • Law on the Bodies of Local Self-Government of Villages and Settlements, 2009 (amended through 2019);
  • Law on Local Bodies of State Power, 2004 (amended through 2021);
  • Law on the Election of Deputies to Local Majlises of People’s Deputies, 1999 (amended through 2019).

There are constitutional provisions that establish local government in Tajikistan. According to Articles 76 and 77 of the Constitution of 1994 (amended through 2016), “local government consists of representative and executive bodies that operate within their powers. They ensure the implementation of the Constitution, laws, joint decisions of the Majlisi milli and Majlisi Namoyandagon, decrees of the Majlisi Namoyandagon, and acts of the President and Government of the Republic of Tajikistan. [The] Majlis of people's deputies approves the local budget and reports on its execution, determines the ways of socio-economic development of the area, local taxes, and payments in accordance with the law, determines the ways management and ownership of communal property, and carries out other powers defined by the Constitution and laws.”

The Majlisi Oli is responsible for establishing the national legal framework on local government. The key pieces of legislation which regulate local government are the Law on Local Bodies of State Power of 2004 (amended through 2020) and the Law on the Bodies of Local Self-Government of Villages and Settlements of 2009 (amended through 2019), which govern the organization of the local self-government bodies and determine their fundamental legal, economic, and financial autonomies.

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.