Turkmen assembly sets February presidential polls

ASHGABAT, Dec 26 (Reuters) Turkmenistan's People's Assembly, setting out the Central Asian state's future path after the death of authoritarian President Saparmurat Niyazov, today scheduled a presidential election for February.

President-for-life Niyazov, who died last week after ruling the country for 21 years, left no heir apparent. His passing prompted fears of a power vacuum in a country with vast gas reserves seen as critical in the West.

A Reuters correspondent inside the vast congress hall said the 2,500 delegates to the Halk Maslakhaty, Turkmenistan's top legislative body, unanimously voted in favour of holding a presidential election on February 11.

Deputy Prime Minister Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, 49, has stepped forward as acting president with the backing of the security leaders close to Niyazov, a former Soviet apparatchik.

Niyazov ran the former Soviet republic through a personality cult, referring to himself as ''Turkmenbashi'', or head of all Turkmen.

The constitution bars the acting head of state from running for the presidency. But there were signs the assembly could take action to lift the bar on Berdymukhamedov.

An agenda distributed to participants included a point on changing the constitution in addition to setting a date for a presidential election and selecting candidates.

The delegates, including national and local officials and village heads, considered documents printed in green embossed with Niyazov's profile in gold. A single gilded chair on a raised platform was left symbolically unoccupied.

Berdymukhamedov, Defence Minister Agageldy Mamedgeldyev and other key cabinet members were present.

ORDERLY TRANSITION In a sign the new leaders had little intention of changing direction, Berdymukhamedov ordered ministers yesterday to finalise construction projects due to be launched on February 19.

Sunday's Soviet-style funeral of the man who applied the name Turkmenbashi to streets, towns, banks, buildings and a brand of vodka, gave every indication that interim leaders would maintain his cult of personality -- at least for now.

A major question focused on whether there would be a single leader wielding unfettered power. Exiled opposition leaders say Tuesday's meeting could throw light on the balance of forces.

Niyazov crushed all dissent and modelled his security apparatus on the Soviet KGB, making it crucial for his successor to have the support of the powerful sector -- often referred to as ''siloviki'' in the ex-Soviet world.

''I don't know what will happen later on if there's any disagreement between the 'siloviki', but for the moment it is clear that they have agreed to back one candidate,'' another diplomat in Ashgabat told Reuters.

Both diplomats cautioned that the situation was too unpredictable, and the acting government too secretive, to predict how exactly the country of 5 million would be run.

While Niyazov was criticised in the West for his poor human rights record, policies such as free electricity and gas and extremely cheap petrol meant many did see him as the ''father of the nation'' depicted in ubiquitous state propaganda.

Reuters MS VV1733