Uzbekistan to elect president to succeed Karimov

By Bahtiyar Abdukerimov

TASHKENT (AA) - Uzbek voters will go to the polls Sunday to elect a president to succeed longtime leader Islam Karimov, who passed away in September.

Karimov, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 78, ran the country for 27 years.

Four candidates are in the running to be Uzbekistan’s second president: acting President Shavkat Mirziyoyev from Kerimov’s Liberal Democratic Party, Hotamjon Ketmonov from the People’s Democratic Party, Sarvar Otamuratov from the Milliy Tiklanich (National Revival) Democratic Party, and Nariman Umarov from the Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party.

Under the Uzbek constitution, if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes cast, a second round between the two leading candidates will take place within one month.

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) will also be monitoring the election, and some 1,300 national and international journalists will cover it.