Voters in Uzbekistan yesterday cast their ballots in an early presidential election that will only extend Shavkat Mirziyóyev’s term by seven more years but with a view to another seven.
In 2021, Mirziyoyev was elected to his second five-year term, the limit allowed by the Constitution at the time. But a set of constitutional reforms approved in a plebiscite last April allowed him to start the term count again and run for two more, raising the possibility that he could stay in office until 2037.
In May, Mirziyoyev, 65, called for early elections, ready to win the vote by a landslide against three token rivals. They were Ulugbek Inoyátov, from the People’s Democratic Party; Abdushuqur Jamzayev, from the Ecologist Party, and Robajon Majmudova, the only woman in the running, from the Justice party. For his part, Alisher Qodirov, from National Renaissance, who faced Mirziyóyev in 2021, decided this time to support him. In fact, all registered political parties in Uzbekistan are loyal to Mirziyoyev, and in 2021 the president won the election by 80.1% of the vote, or so the electoral commission said.
Since coming to power in 2016, following the death of dictator Islam Karimov – who ruled for 27 years – Mirziyóyev has introduced a series of political and economic reforms that softened some of the draconian policies of his predecessor, who turned the former Soviet republic in one of the most repressive countries in Central Asia. At the same time, Uzbekistan has remained a strongly authoritarian state, without significant opposition. A few months ago, more than 40 journalists published an open letter asking the president to intervene against “hidden but strict” censorship.
In the April referendum, more than 90% of those who voted approved the amendments that extend the presidential term. Similar constitutional amendments have been adopted in recent years in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Like the leaders of other Central Asian nations that have close economic ties to Moscow, Mirziyoyev has practiced a delicate balance after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, avoiding endorsing what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation” but also avoiding condemning it. simply calling for peace in the Ukraine.
Like other Central Asian states, Uzbekistan is trying to minimize collateral damage from Western sanctions imposed on its traditional trading partner Russia over the war in Ukraine.
The weakness of the Russian ruble means that Tashkent is expected to see reduced foreign exchange earnings for millions of Uzbeks working in Russia. Uzbekistan now consumes more oil and gas than it produces, and has been buying Russian hydrocarbons, benefiting as Moscow redirects exports away from the West.
