Uzbekistan's prime minister wins presidential poll

By Bahtiyar Abdukerimov

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AA) - Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev was elected president of Uzbekistan, the Central Election Commission said Monday.

Mirziyoyev, who took over as acting president when long-serving leader, Islam Karimov died in September after 27 years in office. The Liberal Democratic Party head secured 88.61 percent of the votes in Sunday's election.

Hotamjon Ketmonov of the People’s Democratic Party claimed 3.73 percent of the votes while Sarvar Otamuratov from the National Revival Democratic Party won 2.35 percent. Nariman Umarov from the Justice Social Democratic Party secured 3.46 percent.

More than 20 million Uzbeks were eligible to vote in the election, which was monitored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.