Millions of voters in Uzbekistan went to the ballot boxes Sunday to cast their ballots in the early presidential elections, in which the current Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is considered the favorite to win.
TASS Russian news agency quoted sources in the Tashkent central elections committee as saying that the authorities have prepared about 11,000 polling stations to receive those wishing to cast their votes out of a total of 20 million voters.
Four candidates are competing in the Uzbekistan elections: Mirziyoyev, candidate of the Liberal Democratic Party, Head of the People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan Ulugbek Inoyatov, Head of the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan Abdushukur Hamzaev, and the Social Democratic Party nominated Robakhon Makhmudova.
The early presidential elections followed the amendments made to the constitution and were approved last May, which stipulated the need to renew the frameworks of the executive and legislative authority, and Mirziyoyev’s declaration that the authority will include only senior officials who obtain the support of the people through the ballot boxes.
The constitutional amendments, which the citizens voted for in a public referendum held at the end of last April, stipulated the extension of the presidential term to seven years from five, which allowed Mirziyoyev to nominate himself for a new term.
International observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and other regional and national organizations participate in monitoring the voting process.
Tomorrow, the preliminary results of the presidential elections in Uzbekistan will be announced.
Source: Kuwait News Agency