Moscow [Russia], July 11: ShavkatMirziyoyev has been re-elected president of the Central Asian republic of Uzbekistan in the snap election he had called.
According to the preliminary results Mirziyoyev won 87.05 percent of the votes in Sunday's election, the central election commission announced in Tashkent on Monday. Mirziyoyev called early elections after a constitutional amendment which changed the president's term of office to seven rather than five years. At the end of April, the head of state had a new constitution approved in a referendum, which made it possible for him to run again. Without the new constitution, his second term would have been his last and would have ended after five years.
The 65-year-old president had no real challengers. Three other candidates were viewed as having little chance, and according to the electoral commission their vote shares amounted to 3.7 and 4.4 percent. According to official figures, voter turnout on Sunday afternoon was almost 70 percent, with some 19.6 million citizens eligible to vote.
In the 2021 election, Mirziyoyev received 80.1 percent of the votes. In May, Uzbeks voted for the constitutional changes with a majority of 90.21 percent. The amendments reduce the size of parliament and also limit a president to two terms, albeit with seven-year durations. But the two previous terms of office for Mirziyoyev, who has been in office since 2016, will not be counted.
Source: Qatar Tribune