Voting took place within the first meeting of the new chamber of parliament.
On April 14, the first meeting of the Halk Maslahaty (HM) of Milli Gengesh (the new chamber of parliament) of Turkmenistan took place in Ashgabat. During the event, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was elected as head of the Halk Maslahaty. On the same day, a joint meeting of the members of the two chambers of the legislative body was organized, as reported by «Turkmenistan Today».
Before the events, the grand opening of the building of the HM apparatus took place. At a meeting of the members of the new chamber of the first convocation Berdimuhamedov gave a speech and reminded that elections of the deputies of Halk Maslahaty were held on March 28.
Chairman of the Central Election Commission G. Myradov said that a total of 48 deputies were elected, and 27% of them are women. Later, at the meeting, the president appointed 8 more members of the chamber.
The leader of the country was elected as head of the Halk Maslahaty of Milli Gengesh by secret vote. The officials also unanimously approved the decree on the establishment of five committees of the HM:
— Committee for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms;
— Committee on Economy, Finance and Social Policy;
— Committee on Science, Education, Digital System, Sports, and Culture;
— Committee for Regional Development, Environmental Protection, and Agroindustrial Policy;
— Committee on International Affairs.
Berdimuhamedov said that the main vector of the work of the bicameral parliament will be the implementation of key areas of development in the social and economic spheres. According to him, the deputies will regularly hold meetings with members of the gengesh, local workers to improve legislation.
It must be added that the Halk Maslahaty can approve or reject the laws adopted by the Mejlis. The term of office of the members of the Milli Gengesh (National Council) is 5 years.
