Early presidential elections were held in Uzbekistan on 9 July 2023. The early election was called after the approval of the constitutional referendum where term limits were reset and president Shavkat Mirziyoyev can serve two more seven-year terms.
Background.
A constitutional referendum was held in Uzbekistan on 30 April 2023. It was held on proposed constitutional amendments.
Parliament approved the referendum on 15 March 2023. The amendments were accepted in the referendum with over 90% in support, which will allow Mirziyoyev to be president for two further terms if re-elected.
The Uzbekistan legislation requires at least 33% of eligible voters to take part in the presidential elections, otherwise, the elections will be pronounced invalid. The law also provides for a second round if none of the candidates receives more than 50% of the vote. In practice, neither of these events have yet occurred, as every presidential election winner since the country's independence in 1991 has won with over 80% of the vote on a turnout of over 79%, and each incumbent standing for re-election has been re-elected.
Conduct.
The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said that the elected "lacked genuine political competition despite some efforts to reform." Their report mentioned "indications of ballot box stuffing as well as numerous observations of seemingly identical signatures on the voter lists," noting that "None of the registered candidates publicly criticized the current president or presented alternative political views and the campaign remained low key throughout, with observers noting that events often appeared orchestrated." The mission did, however, highly appreciate preparations for presidential elections.
Results.
Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was re-elected with 88% of the vote. The preliminary results of the presidential elections were announced at a briefing by the chairman of the Central Election Commission of Uzbekistan, Zainiddin Nizamkhojaev. More than 15 million voters participated in elections.
References.
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