[1][2][3][4] The result was a fifth straight victory for authoritarian long-term incumbent Emomali Rahmon of the People's Democratic Party, who was re-elected with over 90% of the vote.

[7] Candidates are required to gather and submit signatures from 5% of registered voters in order to run in the elections.

In 2019, a retired doctor named Quvvatali Murodov sought to challenge Rahmon and suggested that "the authorities drop restrictions that make it difficult to run for the presidency".

[1] In 2019, Sharofiddin Gadoev, a leader of the banned opposition movement Group 24, said that he had been abducted in Russia and brought to Tajikistan.

[9] On 3 September 2020, Faromuz Irgashev, a 30-year-old lawyer from Tajikistan’s eastern Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), announced his intent to run for the presidency via a YouTube video.