Mirziyoyev poised for landslide win in Uzbekistan presidential election

Uzbekistan is holding a snap presidential election, a vote that follows a constitutional referendum that extended the incumbent's term from five to seven years.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was elected in 2021 to a second five-year term, the limit allowed by the constitution.

But the amendments approved in April's plebiscite allowed him to begin the count of terms anew and run for two more, raising the possibility that he could stay in office until 2037.

The 65-year-old Mirziyoyev is set to win the vote by a landslide on Sunday against three rivals.

"The political landscape has remained unchanged, and none of the parliamentary political parties stands in open opposition to the president’s policies and agenda," the elections observer arm of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said in a pre-voting report.

Since coming to power in 2016 after the death of longtime ruler Islam Karimov, Mirziyoyev has introduced a slew of political and economic reforms that eased some of the policies of his predecessor.

Change after reforms

In April's referendum, more than 90 percent of those who cast ballots voted to approve the amendments extending the presidential term.

As part of his reforms, Mirziyoyev has abolished state regulation of cotton production and sales, ending decades of forced labour in the country's cotton industries, a major source of export revenues.

Under Karimov, more than 2 million Uzbeks were forced to work in the annual cotton harvest.

Mirziyoyev has also lifted controls on hard currency, encouraging investment from abroad, and he moved to improve relations with the West that soured under Karimov.

He has maintained close ties with Russia and signed a number of key agreements with China, which became Uzbekistan's largest trading partner as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.

Like the leaders of other ex-Soviet Central Asian nations that have close economic ties with Moscow, Mirziyoyev has engaged in a delicate balancing act after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine, steering clear of backing the Russian action but not condemning it either.

In Tashkent, which is Central Asia's biggest city, portraits of the four candidates in the election and their programmes are evenly visible.

But residents said they were sure that Mirziyoyev would win.

Matkurban Yadgarov, a retired farmer, said he would "obviously" vote for him.

"The situation is much better under him than the former president. He has put an end to forced labour in the cotton fields," said Yadgarov, referring to a reform frequently touted as showing Mirziyoyev's more open approach.

Mirziyoyev has promised more support for the families of hundreds of thousands of Uzbeks who go to work abroad and whose remittances made up 11.6 percent of GDP in 2021, according to the World Bank.

And, in a country with a largely youthful population, Mirziyoyev has made education improvements a highlight of his campaign.

Lola Umirova, a 28-year-old teacher, told the AFP news agency she expected the president would "improve the education system".

An agricultural engineer by training, Mirziyoyev has promised Internet access and drinking water for all Uzbeks — half of whom live in rural areas.

The country, largely made up of desert, is on the front lines of climate crisis.

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Source: TRT