Uzbek president Mirziyoyev wins elections with over 80% of votes

Moscow, Oct 25 (EFE).- President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan has won a second five-year term with 80.1% of votes in an election that featured no true opposition candidates, the Central Electoral Commission announced Monday.

Opposition candidates were excluded from Sunday’s vote as only politicians from parties approved by the authorities can run for president.

Despite Mirziyoyev’s promises of reforms after assuming office, none of the three Uzbek opposition parties managed to gain legal status.

Maksuda Varísova of the People’s Democratic Party, the first woman to run for the presidency in the Central Asian nation, came second with 6.6% votes.

Of the 21.2 million Uzbeks called to the polls, 16.2 million voted, accounting for over 76% of the population.

The 64-year-old, who served as prime minister between 2003 and 2016, won by a landslide five years ago with 88.6% of votes upon the death of the gas-rich country’s first president, Islam Karimov. EFE

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