Uzbekistan snap election: President Mirziyoyev re-elected for seven-year term, to be in office until 2030

Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was re-elected for a seven-year term as he won Sunday's (July 9) snap election with 87 per centof the vote, the Central Election Commission said on Monday, citing preliminary results. With this victory, President Mirziyoyev will remain in office until 2030. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulatedMirziyoyev on his re-election.

Mirziyoyev, who has been in power since 2016, called for the snap election after changing the constitution through a referendum which reset his term count and extended the presidential term to seven years from five.

Sunday's presidential election in Uzbekistan was the seventh such poll held since gaining independence in 1991. More than 10,000 polling stations were set up across the country for Sunday's vote.

Before the election, citizens told AFP that they would be voting for Mirziyoyev, who competedagainst three largely unknown candidates. "These are my first elections. I will be voting for Shavkat Mirziyoyev because I want there to be more opportunities for young people and places to study," 18-year-old Milana Yuldasheva said.

The poll campaign

President Mirziyoyev focused his election campaign on the economy and education. The 65-year-old has opened up Uzbekistan to foreign trade and investment while also easing restrictions on religious and political freedoms. Mirziyoyev also said that he aimed to double the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to $160 billion soon.

Mirziyoyev had previously served as the prime minister under Islam Karimov before winning his first term in 2016 and getting re-elected in 2021.

An artificial opposition

Despite the socio-economic reforms, Uzbekistan remains a tightly controlled state. According to a report by the news agency AFP, non-government organisations (NGOs) have said that human rights records are better than under Karimov but there is still much to improve, and the authorities have shown no sign of allowing a real opposition to emerge.

Speaking to AFP ahead of the snap election, Uzbek political expert Farkhod Talipov said, "The victory of the incumbent president is obvious. All the other candidates are completely unknown and unpopular. Their candidacies are just an artificial way of showing a political struggle that does not exist."

On the other hand, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said the campaign had been "low-key, mirroring lack of opposition to the incumbent."

(With inputs from agencies)

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