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Polls Close In Uzbekistan In Election That Incumbent Mirziyoev Is Expected To Win

By RFE/RL October 24, 2021

Uzbekistan voted in a presidential election on October 24 in which incumbent President Shavkat Mirziyoyev faced no genuine opposition and is almost certain to win a second term.

Mirziyoev faced four little-known candidates who are largely pro-government. Three opposition parties were not allowed to register or have candidates in the race.

It was Uzbekistan's sixth presidential election since the country of some 35 million people gained its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991.

As Mirziyoev's first term nears its end, he is struggling to counter impressions that his government is sliding back toward the authoritarian habits of his long-reigning predecessor Islam Karimov.

Mirziyoev did open up Central Asia's most-populous nation to foreign investment, improved Uzbekistan's relations with its neighbors, and eased the Karimov-era restrictions on religious freedoms while also releasing dozens of political prisoners.

But like his predecessor, Mirziyoev exercises virtually unrestrained political power in Uzbekistan and his relatives have been accused of using his political clout to amass wealth.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have also overshadowed some of his initial economic achievements, leading to higher unemployment and sharp rises in the cost of living.

He has also come under criticism for cracking down on his critics and activists ahead of the vote.

Electoral officials put turnout at more than 70 percent a few hours before polls closed at 8 p.m. local time. More than 20 million people were eligible to vote.

Preliminary results were due on October 25.

Uzbek citizens living abroad can vote at one of about 100 polling stations at Uzbekistan's embassies and consulates, including the embassy in Moscow and six other places in Russia.

According to Uzbek electoral laws, only registered political parties can nominate candidates for parliamentary or presidential elections.

Three unregistered opposition parties announced their intention to field candidates: the Erk Democratic Party, the Truth and Development Party, and the People's Interest Party.

Despite their attempts, none was registered and official pressure eventually forced all of them to end their efforts to have candidates in the race.

Mirziyoev's only challenger to receive significant attention during the campaign was Alisher Kodirov, who proposed that Uzbeks working outside of the country should pay taxes in Uzbekistan.

That position is unpopular among a large portion of Uzbekistan's population that depends upon remittances from family members who work abroad.

Mirziyoev openly disagreed with Kodirov's proposal.

Some observers suggested that Kodirov announced his tax proposal to channel more votes to Mirziyoev -- a view bolstered by the fact that Kodirov's National Revival Party is in a parliamentary coalition with Mirziyoev's Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan.

The three other candidates in the race and their political parties were Bahrom Abduhalimov of the Adolat (Justice) party, Maksuda Borisova of the People's Democratic Party, and Narzullo Oblomuradov of the Ecological Party.

Borisova was the second woman to run in an Uzbek presidential election. Oblomuradov is the first presidential candidate fielded by the Ecological Party.

Mirziyoev, 64, was the only candidate who has run for president before.

Mirziyoev cast his own vote on October 24 at a polling station on the outskirts of Tashkent where he appeared alongside wife and their three children.

He smiled as he posed for photographers before dropping his vote in the ballot box. But he did not comment to the press.

Mirziyoev was prime minister from 2003 to 2016, when Uzbekistan's first and only previous president, Islam Karimov, died.

Mirziyoev became acting president and then won a snap presidential election on December 4, 2016, receiving just over 90 percent of the vote.

There are some 970 foreign observers monitoring the presidential election.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has sent 28 long-term observers and 250 short-term observers to the country.

An interim report released by ODIHR on October 8 noted that, while there was "an increased possibility to critically report on some social and political issues…many longstanding issues remain, including intimidation and harassment of journalists and bloggers, and a restrictive legal framework for the media."

Uzbekistan has never held an election that was deemed fair or democratic by Western observers.

With reporting by AP and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-election- mirziyoev-opposition/31526631.html

Copyright (c) 2021. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.