Uzbekistan Commences Early Presidential Election Voting
Uzbekistan Holds Early Elections After Constitutional Amendment
Uzbekistan is set to hold early elections following the adoption of a constitutional amendment in a referendum on April 30th. The decision to hold early elections was made after the amendment was passed.
Approximately 20 million registered voters will have the opportunity to cast their votes in the upcoming elections. The voting process will commence at 08:00 local time and will continue until 20:00 local time. A total of 10,784 ballot boxes have been set up across Uzbekistan to accommodate the voting process.
In addition, Uzbek citizens residing abroad will also be able to participate in the elections. Fifty-five ballot boxes have been established in 39 countries, including Turkey, to enable overseas citizens to cast their votes.
The elections will feature four candidates who have been nominated by five different political parties that are represented in the Legislative Assembly, the lower house of the parliament. According to Uzbekistan’s laws, candidates must be Uzbek citizens who have a good command of the Uzbek language, be at least 35 years old, have continuously resided in the country for the past 10 years, and have been nominated solely by political parties.
Among the four candidates running for president are incumbent President Şevket Mirziyoyev, who has been nominated by the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan. The other candidates include Uluğbek Inoyatov from the People’s Democratic Party, Abduşkur Hamzayev from the Ecology Party of Uzbekistan, and Roba Mahmudova from the Justice Social Democratic Party. The National Resurrection Party is supporting Mirziyoyev.
For the elections to be considered valid, voter turnout must exceed 33 percent, as per the country’s law. In order for a candidate to win, they must receive over 50 percent of the votes. If no candidate achieves this majority, the two candidates with the highest number of votes will proceed to a second round of elections.
The elections are being closely monitored by nearly 800 international observers from various countries and organizations, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Organization of Turkic States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Additionally, over 2,000 local and foreign journalists are covering the election proceedings.
Since the passing of the first President Islam Karimov, President Mirziyoyev has emerged victorious in previous elections. In the 2016 presidential election, he secured 88.61 percent of the votes against three opponents, and in the 2021 elections, he garnered 80.1 percent of the votes against four opponents, earning him the presidency for two consecutive terms.
