The peace treaty allowed for the incorporation of opposition parties under the UTO umbrella in a provisional government, and the legalization of these parties in time for their effective participation in the presidential and parliamentary elections that were held in November 1999 and February 2000 respectively. These elections were intended to mark the completion of the transition period from civil war to normalcy. The re-election of Rakhmanov to another term in office, now extended to seven years, was contested by the Islamic Renaissance Party for unfair limitations on that party's candidate, Davlat Usmanov. Observers of the electoral campaign, and the IRP protesting the results, concentrated on the format and procedure of elections such as access to the media, the government's unfair advantage and the intimidation of the electorate. These were raised to question the results and the legitimacy of the President Rakhmanov.
Procedural concerns are in essence applicable to any democracy.
But the focus on formal aspects of democracy in Tajikistan risks neglecting its essence. Given the history of regional conflict in that state, it is clear that a viable democracy and a stable state in Tajikistan can only be built on the basis of an all-inclusive approach. A large body of literature has explored the monopolisation of government posts by officials from Kulob at the expense of those from Leninobod. It is generally argued that President Rakhmanov has brought into government his allies from Kulob and planted them in key positions. This example tends to give credence to the argument that the regional factor remains the Achilles' heel of Tajik politics.