AP Photo
With a portrait of Turkmenistan President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov in the background a voter in a traditional Turkmen woman's attire casts a ballot in a parliamentary election at a polling station in the capital Ashgabat, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008. It was the first parliamentary election since the death of longtime autocrat Saparmurat Niyazov two years ago, which kindled hopes the Central Asian country would gradually loosen its oppressive political regime and introduce greater freedoms. Niyazov ruled Turkmenistan with an iron fist for almost two decades, isolating the international community and forging a bizarre personality cult.
