2015 Uzbek presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Uzbekistan on 29 March 2015.[1] The result was a victory for incumbent President Islam Karimov, who received over 90% of the vote.[2][3] Karimov's win gave him a fourth consecutive term as president, dating back to 1990.

2015 Uzbek presidential election

29 March 2015
Turnout	91.08%
Nominee Islam Karimov Akmal Saidov Party Liberal Democratic Milliy Tiklanish Popular vote 17,122,597 582,688 Percentage 90.39% 3.08%
President before election Islam Karimov Liberal Democratic Elected President Islam Karimov Liberal Democratic

Background

A constitutional law on presidential elections was approved by the Senate on 23 March 2012,[4] which required presidential elections to be held 90 days after parliamentary elections.[5] Elections to the Legislative Chamber were held over two-rounds, the first on 23 December 2014 and the second on 4 January 2015.

The law change effectively shortened the term of incumbent President Islam Karimov by several months, as under the previous law, the elections would have been held on 27 December 2015.[4] Though the constitution limits presidents to two terms in office, the Central Election Commission allowed Karimov to run again, arguing that Karimov had only served one term since the constitution was adopted in 2002, and that his previous two terms before that should not count.[6]

Candidates

Confirmed candidates were:

• Islam Karimov of the Liberal Democratic Party, president since 1990[7]
• Khatamjan Ketmanov of the People's Democratic Party[7]
• Nariman Umarov of the Justice Social Democratic Party[8]
• Akmal Saidov of the National Revival Democratic Party[8]

All candidates were loyal to Karimov.[9]

Conduct

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe stated that the Uzbek poll lacked genuine opposition.[3] Steve Swerdlow at Human Rights Watch called the vote a "sham election".[10] Observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation called the election "open, free, and democratic," and said it had proceeded "openly and democratically," respectively.[11]

Results

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Islam Karimov	Liberal Democratic Party	17,122,597	90.39
Akmal Saidov	National Revival Democratic Party	582,688	3.08
Hotamjon Ketmonov	People's Democratic Party	552,309	2.92
Nariman Umarov	Justice Social Democratic Party	389,024	2.05
Invalid/blank votes		295,731	–
Total		18,942,349	100
Registered voters/turnout		20,798,052	91.08
Source: CEC

References

1. Uzbekistan to hold presidential polls in late March ITAR-TASS, 26 December 2014
2. "Uzbek leader Karimov wins presidential election by landslide". The Globe and Mail. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
3. "Veteran Uzbek leader re-elected in vote OSCE brands undemocratic". 30 Mar 2015.
4. Karimov surreptitiously shortens presidential term of office Archived 2014-05-18 at the Wayback Machine Uznews, 29 March 2012
5. Election of President of Uzbekistan to take place on March 22, 2015 CA-News, 14 May 2014
6. Lillis, Joanna (2015-03-29). "Uzbekistan: Tashkent Voters Back Strongman as He Cruises to Victory". Eurasianet.org. Retrieved 2015-03-31.
7. Karimov Nominated For Reelection In Uzbekistan Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, 15 January 2015
8. Elections 2015 Archived 2016-11-12 at the Wayback Machine Uzbekistan Embassy to the United Kingdom
9. "Veteran Uzbek leader re-elected in vote OSCE brands undemocratic".
10. Human rights activists’ dismay as Uzbekistan autocrat clings to power The Guardian, 4 April 2015
11. Lillis, Joanna (2015-03-30). "Uzbekistan's Dictator Grabs Fourth Term in Opposition-Free Poll". Eurasianet.org. Retrieved 2015-03-31.