Uzbekistan passes comprehensive constitutional reform including extension of presidential term

Voters in Uzbekistan have overwhelmingly backed constitutional changes that could allow President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to remain in power until 2040, preliminary results show. The elections commission said [...] that more than 90 percent of voters in the Central Asian country backed the reforms. Turnout in the former Soviet country, where rights groups said the government’s authoritarian tendencies limit space for dissent, was about 85 percent. The constitutional amendments passed in Sunday’s referendum will extend presidential terms from five to seven years and allow Mirziyoyev to run for two more terms when his current one ends in 2026. Mirziyoyev, 65, became president in 2016 after the death of repressive leader Islam Karimov. He has promised his citizens greater social and legal protections. He insisted the overhaul of the constitution would improve governance and quality of life in the landlocked country of 35 million people, whose rights have long been heavily restricted.
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