the elections of 7 April 2003 (turnout 89.3%) belonged to the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan. Like the Assembly of Turkmenistan (the parliament), it was led by the President, who was constitutionally the head of both the legislative and the executive branches of government. Turkmenistan's administration was based on Halk Maslahatys on different levels. Each province (welaýat) of Turkmenistan had its own (originally 80-member, now 40-member) welaýat halk maslahaty, whose members are elected directly in constituencies. Their influence has been fairly limited even on paper and probably even more so in practice, taking into account that Turkmenistan is a dominant-party state ruled mostly by its president. On lower administrative levels, district and city halk maslahatys existed, as well. The national-level Halk Maslahaty was abolished when President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow introduced a new constitution in 2008, its powers being returned to the Assembly and the President. In October 2017, however, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov reorganised the Council of Elders into a new People's Council. In September 2020 the Turkmenistan Parliament adopted a constitutional amendment creating an upper chamber and thus making the Parliament bicameral. The People's Council became the upper chamber. It consists of 56 members, 48 of whom are elected indirectly (i.e., by electors, not by popular ballot) and 8 of whom are appointed by the president. Together with the previous unicameral parliament, the 125-seat Mejlis, as the lower chamber, the Parliament was called the National Council (). Elections to the upper chamber were held 28 March 2021. Elections to the Mejlis were last held 25 March 2018. Outside observers consider the Turkmen legislature to be a rubber stamp parliament. In 2022 the Halk Maslahaty was officially renamed Döwlet Maslahaty ("Government Council"). In January 2023 both chambers of parliament proposed to abolish the Halk Maslahaty as a legislative organ, to reform it as an independent representative body, and to place all legislative authority in a unicameral Assembly (Mejlis). This proposal was adopted in a joint sesssion of the National Council on 21 January 2023. Results of 2021 election Turkmen official media reported that 231 out of 240 eligible electors came from the Halk Maslahatys of the five provinces and Ashgabat city, meaning 98.7% of eligible electors participated in the 2021 election. They included 37 from Ahal province, 38 from Lebap province, and 39 each from the other provinces and the city of Ashgabat. One hundred twelve candidates competed for 48 seats. Twenty-seven per