Nearly 20 million Uzbeks must vote to elect their president on Sunday in a snap election in which leader Chavkat Mirzioev, who presents himself as a reformer, should easily remain in power in Central Asia’s most populous country.
The roughly 10,800 polling stations, which are due to close at 20:00 (15:00 GMT) opened at 8:00 local time (03:00 GMT) after the Uzbek anthem, AFP journalists in Tashkent, the capital, noted , feast of this former Soviet republic.
This presidential election was convened by Mr. Mirzioev, elected in 2016 and then easily renewed in 2021 following the constitutional referendum approved by more than 90% of the voters of this gas-rich country, in a strategic location in the heart of Central Asia.
To inaugurate the project of a more just “New Uzbekistan,” according to the president’s widespread mantra, the April 30 vote also confirmed the transition from the five-year to the seven-year term and authorized Chavkat Mirzioev to run for two more terms.
Measures that allow the 65-year-old head of state to remain in power theoretically until 2037 after scoring major victories in elections criticized by international observers for the lack of real competition.
“Fight Against Corruption”
There is little doubt about the outcome of the vote and all Uzbeks met by AFP pledged their vote for the outgoing leader who faces three unknown candidates.
“I hope that Shavkat Mirzioev will become the future president so that he accelerates the fight against corruption, that he recognizes the problems we have with ecology,” hopes Nodira Khidoyatova, a 57-year-old entrepreneur, who she said when she left from a polling station where, like everywhere else, the polling booths have no curtains and the ballot papers have no envelopes.
AFP
And for voters who can’t move, the ballot box is being brought home, AFP observed, while state media shows images of streams of people moving through the polling stations, sometimes dancing and singing.
“These are my first elections, I will vote for Chavkat Mirzioev because I want there to be more prospects for young people and places at university,” hopes Milana Iouldacheva, 18, a resident of Krasnogorsk. A request that reflects one of the promises made by the outgoing President.
Strong population growth
Rousibou Guibadoullina, a street vendor, wants to “ask presidential candidate Mirtsioyev that the young generation can rest in summer camps like in Soviet times” in this former mining town, where a 1950s mural fresco in honor rests on a building in the main square the symbol of the USSR can be seen.
Because in the predominantly young country with strong population growth, there are still economic difficulties despite progress, many Uzbeks have to travel to Russia to feed their families.
Sunnat Touïtchiev, a 40-year-old welder from Tashkent, expects the new president to solve “gas problems” and “improve the quality of roads” after a winter marked by repeated cuts.
AFP
Internationally, Mr Mirzioev’s stated goal is to continue his policy of openness in order to attract foreign investment, breaking with Uzbekistan’s quarter-century of isolation under Islam Karimov, of which he was Prime Minister.
But internally, the political landscape has changed little, with only five legal parties, all supporting the President’s policies to a greater or lesser extent.
And this election is no exception, with a big favorite facing almost unknown competitors, although the programs and posters in Uzbek and Russian are divided fairly among the candidates.
A formula already tested in elections in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia and highlighted by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which described the election campaign as “discreet”, reflecting the absence of opposition to the outgoing president.
And NGOs have criticized the repression of rare anti-constitutional demonstrations in July 2022 in the north of the country, which killed 21 people, according to the official report.