Uzbekistan President wins nationwide referendum to rewrite Constitution 

A vast majority of Uzbekistan’s voters voted “Yes” to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s bid to rewrite the country’s Constitution in Sunday’s referendum that promised more freedoms to the people of the former Soviet republic and could also see the President extending his rule beyond his current two-term limit.

A vast majority of Uzbekistan’s voters voted “Yes” to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s bid to rewrite the country’s Constitution in Sunday’s referendum that promised more freedoms to the people of the former Soviet republic and could also see the President extending his rule beyond his current two-term limit.

According to the preliminary results announced by the Election Commission on Monday, 90.21% of voters supported the changes, while 9.35% voted ‘No’. The turnout was 84.54%.

As per the country’s referendum law, at least 50% of the voters should cast their ballots for a referendum to be considered valid. At 1 p.m. on Sunday, the Election Commission declared that the referendum was valid as voters turned out in large numbers across the country to “choose their future”.

At polling station 517 in the Tashkent Financial Institute, voters of different age groups were seen in small queues at 3 p.m. on Sunday, exercising their rights. The booth had over 2,000 registered voters, whose names were published on a notice board.

Norboyev Uktam, the chief of the polling station, said all arrangements were made to make the voting transparent and free.

“The votes of this booth will be counted here by the officials and then sent to the Central Commision, which will do the final tallying,” Mr. Uktam said, explaining the process.

On the day of the referendum, different state agencies held back-to-back briefings at the Election Commission press office in Tashkent, detailing the steps taken to ensure a free and fair vote.