Berdymukhammedov appeared at an Ashgabat polling station accompanied by his father, his son, and his grandson.
Berdymukhammedov allowed his father to exercise his constitutional right as the elder in the family and vote first.
All seven other candidates reportedly have also cast their ballots.
The February 12 poll marks only the third time in more than 20 years of independence that Turkmenistan has held a presidential election, and only the second time when there has been more than one candidate running.
Berdymukhammedov, who enjoys the support of the country’s only political party – the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan – as well as trade unions and social organizations, won the first alternative election held in 2007, less than two months after his predecessor, Saparmurat Niyazov, died.
Berdymukhammedov has done little to fulfill campaign promises he made in 2007, such as loosening the strict controls over society put in place by Niyazov or allowing other political parties to be registered. He has pledged to improve living standards if reelected.
Turkmenistan has huge reserves of natural gas — the third-largest in the world — providing the Turkmen government with huge revenues and mitigating criticism from Western governments seeking new sources of energy supplies.
International rights organizations continue to criticize the Turkmen government for its failure to respect human rights or make any attempt at democratic reforms.
No Western election observers will monitor the vote, but election monitors from the Commonwealth of Independent States are in the country.
Compiled from agency reports
Source Article from http://www.rferl.org/content/turkmenistan_elections_berdymukhammedov/24481131.html
