(AP Photo/Alexander Vershinin)

Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov speaks to journalists after casting his ballot at a polling station in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has been the overwhelmingly dominant figure in the former Soviet republic for a decade, when he assumed power after death of his eccentric predecessor Saparmurat Niyazov. (AP Photo/Alexander Vershinin)

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) — Turkmenistan's incumbent president has won re-election in a widely anticipated landslide victory, election authorities said on Monday. Turkmenistan has no election threshold, but by 1100 local time (0600 GMT), 51.45 percent of voters had already cast their ballots, the Central Election Commission said. The election commission announced the result on February 13, a day after an election whose outcome seemed certain in advance because of Berdymukhammedov's domination of the Central Asian country and the tightly controlled campaign. Last year, Turkmenistan amended its constitution in a way that could allow Berdymukhamedov to stay in power indefinitely, removing the 70-year age limit for presidential candidates and extending the presidential term to seven years from five.
Voters in Turkmenistan go to the polls for an election, with current president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow expected to win another term.