[1] Emomali Rahmonov, who had been de facto president since 1992, ran for the revived post with the support (though not the formal nomination) of the Communist Party of Tajikistan and won with 1,434,437 votes.

The elections took place amidst the ongoing civil war, although a round of talks in Tehran in September 1994 provided for a formal cease-fire, scheduled to end on 5 November.

The Russian and Uzbek governments put pressure on Rahmonov, resulting in the postponement of the election to 6 November and extension of the nomination deadline until 27 October.

Although the second registered candidate, Abdumalik Abdullajanov, was not a decoy figure, the main opposition forces had not been allowed to form political parties and were effectively shut out of political activity prior to the elections.

As a result, the opposition boycotted the elections, saying that a fair contest was impossible with Rahmonov in power.