Presidential elections in Uzbekistan will be held ahead of schedule

Mirziyoyev announced the decision to hold early presidential elections on May 8 during a meeting with the chairmen of the chambers of the Uzbek parliament, party leaders and heads of executive and judicial authorities. The meeting was devoted to the results of the referendum on the new version of the constitution, which took place on 30 April. More than 90% of voters approved the new version of the basic law, allowing the president to be elected twice for a term of seven years. Previously, this period was five years. Mirziyoyev’s current mandate expired in 2026. He was first elected to the presidency in 2016 after the death of his predecessor Islam Karimov, receiving 88% of the vote, and was re-elected in 2021 with 80% of the vote.

The decision to abandon the remaining three and a half years of the presidential term, Mirziyoyev explained “the need for urgent changes and reforms in all areas.” “Our updated constitution sets new political, social and economic tasks for the president, parliament, government, ministers and khokims (heads of administrations), the solution of which cannot be postponed,” he said.

In addition, according to Mirziyoyev, according to the new constitution, all branches of government are being reformed and “relationships and the balance between them are seriously changing.” “The only source of state power is the people, it is advisable to entrust the leadership of the country only to the leader whom our people trust,” the head of state added.

On May 6, Mirziyoyev signed a constitutional law amending the Electoral Code regarding the early elections of the head of state and deputies of the two chambers of parliament. According to the document, when early presidential elections are called, they are held within two months.

Amendments to the constitution, adopted at a referendum, provide for an increase in the term of office of the head of state from five to seven years and zeroing the term of the incumbent president. After the law comes into force, Mirziyoyev will theoretically be able to stay in power until 2037. In addition, the new constitution expands the control functions of parliament deputies in the sphere of state budget execution and consideration of reports from the Accounts Chamber.

After the likely re-election of Mirziyoyev for a new, third term, political changes are unlikely to follow in the country, Uzbek political scientist Farhod Tolipov believes. “The state system of Mirziyoyev does not differ from the system of the previous head of state,” the expert believes. The recent referendum, from his point of view, did not meet the requirements of genuine political pluralism and competition.

Political analyst Galia Ibragimova, a Central Asian specialist, believes that the decree on early presidential elections has a symbolic meaning for Mirziyoyev. “The current president is trying to build a political system from scratch and not associate his power with the previous president. He is trying to proclaim the onset of a new Mirziyoev era in the history of Uzbekistan, the expert believes. “But, in fact, the country reproduces the same model of the state, in which all the levers of government are concentrated in the hands of one person.”

According to Ibragimova, Mirziyoyev is afraid to face the resistance of the power bloc within the power vertical. “Unlike Karimov, the current president does not have full control over the security forces. Previously, the main structure was the state security service. In opposition to it, Mirziyoyev formed the National Guard. And now he is trying to balance between them. In such conditions, he believes that early elections will further strengthen his legitimacy in the eyes of domestic and foreign elites and his own population,” the expert says.