Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 24/ Trend V. Zhavoronkova/
Currently there is no possibility for opposition candidate to win the presidential elections in Tajikistan, the U.S. expert on Central Asia, Bruce Pannier believes.
Tajik current President Emomali Rahmon officially introduces his candidacy to the presidential elections that will be held in November. Opposition in the country has already elected Oinihol Babanazrova as common candidate from opposition.
"Oinihol Babanazrova is an interesting choice as the opposition's candidate for presidency," Pannier told Trend on Tuesday.
He said she is a respected rights activist and since she was convicted of treason and jailed at the start of Tajikistan's civil war, her credentials as an opposition figure are beyond reproach.
"She doesn't really have a chance but to be honest, no one would," Pannier said.
He thinks this is the reason why several opposition groups decided to join forces and nominate a single candidate to being with but none of those parties forwarded their own leaders.
"Currently there is no possibility an opposition candidate would defeat Rahmon in elections, so I think the opposition decided to wait another seven years and try their luck in 2020," Pannier added.
Expert added that Rahmon will win in these elections and he is going to say the best years are coming soon, that hydropower and domestic natural gas from projects Russia's Gazprom, the China National Petroleum Corp, France's Total and Canada's Tethys are undertaking now will soon make the country energy self sufficient and herald the start of a new and improved life for the country's citizens.
"In any case, all Tajikistan's people who remember the civil war years would prefer a leader they know to someone new and unpredictable," Pannier believes.