TASHKENT: According to preliminary results announced on Monday, Uzbekistan voters overwhelmingly supported constitutional amendments in the Central Asian country that might allow President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to hold power until 2040.
According to the elections commission, approximately 90% of voters supported the reforms, with an approximate 85% turnout in the former Soviet nation, where rights organisations claim that the government’s authoritarian tendencies restrict space for dissent. Following the demise of autocrat Islam Karimov, 65-year-old Mirziyoyev was elected president in 2016.
He maintains that the constitution’s amendment will enhance government and quality of life in the 35 million-person landlocked nation of Central Asia, whose rights have long been severely curtailed. However, observers say Mirziyoyev was anticipated to gain the most in the predominantly Muslim country.
The amendments being considered would increase the length of presidential terms from five to seven years, enabling him to run for office twice more and hold the presidency until 2040.
–APP
