Recent statements by Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon highlighted the threats to stability -- both foreign and domestic -- that Tajikistan will face during the politically sensitive time ahead of the November presidential election. In his annual address to parliament April 26, Rakhmon promised that the upcoming vote will be fair and transparent, but he warned that Tajik opposition parties should not rely on "foreign patrons" for support or attempt to create a situation similar to the one that led to Tajikistan's civil war in the mid-1990s. The speech likely reflected Rakhmon's concerns about the electoral challenge posed by opposition parties -- especially the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, the regime's strongest rival -- as well as other issues that will test the country's stability, such as restive rebel populations in the eastern provinces and Tajikistan's complicated relationship with Russia....
