Incumbent President Shavkat Mirzijojev has won the elections held in Uzbekistan on Sunday. International news agencies report this on Monday. Mirziyoyev received 87 percent of the vote. The election victory means that the 65-year-old president will continue to rule the Central Asian country for at least another seven years.
The elections were originally scheduled for 2026, but the Uzbek people approved a number of constitutional amendments last April through a referendum organized by Mirzijojev. As a result, the elections were held early.
Mirzijojev, who came to power in 2016 and was actually already in his second term, is now starting his second term again due to his win; that amendment is part of the amended constitution. In addition, a president in Uzbekistan is now leader of the country for seven years, previously it was five years. A president can also remain in power for three terms. There is therefore a good chance that Mirzijojev will remain in power until 2037. He would then be almost 80 years old.
No competitive elections
Mirzijojev took over in 2016 from the autocratic president Islam Karimov, who had ruled the country since the collapse of the Soviet Union, who died that year. His arrival brought many changes for the hitherto closed country. The new president opened the borders to foreign trade and investment, expanded freedom of speech and liberalized the political system.
That does not mean that the country has become a democracy: there are no strong opposition parties in Uzbekistan, and Mirzijojev’s three challengers in these elections also had no chance beforehand. No ballot in the country has ever been fair. For example, in the 2016 presidential election, ballots were tampered with and some “voters” were driven around to cast their votes in multiple places, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe found.
Also read this opinion article: The West will have to pay more attention to the Central Asian states
balancing act
At the moment, Mirzijoev is engaged in a balancing act with Russia: Uzbekistan has not condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but it does not support Russia either. Maintaining a good (economic) relationship with Moscow is important for Uzbekistan.
The international sanctions against important trading partner Russia also affect Uzbekistan. In addition, millions of Uzbeks work in Russia. The plummeting ruble means that the money they send back home is worth much less. On the other hand, Uzbekistan benefits from Russia exporting less oil and gas to the west.