Early presidential elections are held in Uzbekistan

Early presidential elections are held in Uzbekistan on Sunday. The incumbent President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and three candidates from formal opposition parties are running for the post of head of state. Political scientists consider the re-election of the current president actually a foregone conclusion.

Early elections were scheduled after amendments to the Constitution of Uzbekistan were approved in a referendum on April 30. According to them, the presidential term will now be seven years instead of five. In this regard, the presidential terms of the current President Mirziyoyev, who has been in power since 2016, are “zeroed out”, which gives him the opportunity to be elected to the post of head of state twice more until 2037. The powers of the president will also be expanded.

Political scientist Rafael Sattarov noted in an interview with Deutsche Welle that one shouldn’t expect surprises. “These are the grayest elections in history. People don’t even know about the other candidates for the post of president, except for Mirziyoyev. Their names are unknown and will be immediately forgotten, so it makes no sense to talk about the opposition,” he said.

Polling stations opened in Uzbekistan at 8 am local time. In addition, Uzbek citizens abroad can vote in 39 foreign countries.