People's Council of Turkmenistan

The Halk Maslahaty (Turkmen: Halk Maslahaty, [xɑlq mɑθlɑxɑt̪ɯ]; "People's Council") was the highest representative body in Turkmenistan (Article 45 of the 1992 Constitution).[1] It was abolished in the new constitution of 2008. Before 1991, it was known as the Supreme Soviet of the Turkmen SSR.

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The council had 2,507 members, some of whom were elected. All candidates at the elections of 7 April 2003 (turnout 89.3%) belonged to the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan. Like the Assembly of Turkmenistan (the parliament), it was led by the President, who was constitutionally the head of both the legislative and the executive branches of government.

Turkmenistan's administration was based on Halk Maslahatys on different levels. Each province (welaýat) of Turkmenistan has its own, 80-member welaýat halk maslahaty, whose members are elected directly in constituencies. Their influence is fairly limited even on paper and probably even more so in practice, taking into account that Turkmenistan is a dominant-party state ruled mostly by its president. On lower administrative levels, district and city halk maslahatys exist.

The Halk Maslahaty system was abolished when President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow introduced a new constitution in 2008, its powers being returned to the Assembly and the President.[2]

In October 2017, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov reorganized the Council of Elders into a new People's Council.[3]