On Sunday, Uzbekistan is holding a snap presidential elections, a vote that follows the constitutional referendum that extended the incumbent’s term from five to seven years.
In 2021, president Shavkat Mirziyoyev was elected for second five-year term. However, in April the amendment approved him to begin the count of terms anew and run for two more, raising the possibility that he could stay in office until 2037.
The 65-year-old Mirziyoyev is set to win the election with a landslide victory against his three opposition leaders.
Since coming into power in 2016, after the death of the longtime dictator Islam Karimov, Mirziyoyev passed a slew of political and economical reforms that erased some of the draconian policies set by his predecessor, who had made Uzbekistan into one of the region’s most repressive countries.
Under Mirziyoyev’s administration, freedom of speech has been expanded compared to that of his predecessor. Some independent media outlets have also emerged. The political leader also eased restriction on Islam in the predominantly Muslim country.
At the same time, Uzbekistan also stayed strongly authoritarian with no significant opposition. All of the registered political parties were loyal to Mirziyoyev.