Tag Archives: election

Students forced to sign pro-Karimov petitions

JAN. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Students in Uzbekistan are being forced into signing petitions supporting the presidential candidature of Uzbek leader Islam Karimov, the Uzbek arm of the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Mr Karimov has said he is going to stand for another term as president in an election in March.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)

Uzbek PM likely to retain job after election

JAN. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The lower house of Uzbekistan’s parliament approved the re-selection of Shavkat Mirziyoyev as an official PM candidate. Mr Mirziyoyev has been PM since 2003 and Uzbek analysts said it was highly likely that he would retain the job after the March presidential election.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 216, published on Jan. 28 2015)

Uzbek media announces Karimov’s re-election

>>Presidential election set for March 29 in Uzbekistan>>

JAN. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The clue was in the headline. A pro-government news outlet in Uzbekistan, they are all pro-government, ran a story under the headline: “Incumbent President Islam Karimov’s re-election scheduled”.

Nothing, it seems, could be more certain. Mr Karimov has already ruled over Uzbekistan for 25 years, despite constitutional articles that bans one person from holding the post for more than two consecutive terms.

Few people expect any surprises from this campaign and it appears that it suits the United States, Russia and China to keep the status quo. The only two other candidates cleared to run in the election by the Uzbek Central Election Committee are avowed supporters of Mr Karimov.

Importantly, also, there is little mention of Gulnara Karimova, Mr Karimova’s eldest daughter. She had been talked of as a successor to her father but has fallen from grace over the past 18 months or so. She remains under house arrest and many of her associates are in prison.

Uzbekistan’s up and coming presidential election, set for March 29, will be marked by its trademark lack of any real competition.

A seasoned Uzbekistan watcher also said that Uzbeks are apathetic about the prospect of another Karimov term in office.

“People, you know, are apathetic,” he said. “I don’t expect any surprises.”
Mr Karimov has been in power in Uzbekistan since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. It’s inconceivable that he won’t win March’s election again.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

Uzbekistan increases security along border

JAN. 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Uzbek Border Guard Service has beefed up its units along its frontier with Afghanistan, citing intelligence that the Taliban was mustering its forces, although some analysts and Afghan security officials questioned the level of the threat.

Central Asian governments have said that the withdrawal of NATO from Afghanistan will worsen its own border security.

Two weeks ago, Zamir Kabulov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for Afghanistan said that the Taliban was planning a wide offensive on Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in April.

Even with the Russian warning and the Uzbek military build-up, the Tajik-language service of the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty quoted Afghan general Abdusabur Nusrati refuting reports of the Taliban build-up.

An Uzbek analyst who declined to be named was also sceptical over just how acute the Taliban threat was.

Instead he suggested that the move may be linked to the up and coming presidential election set for March 29. He said that the security issue may play into President Islam Karimov’s image as the tough man of Uzbekistan.

“The country is preparing for presidential elections in only three months,” he said. “To my mind this statements is another indication that he is eyeing another bid as president.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 214, published on Jan. 14 2015)

Uzbekistan holds parliamentary election

DEC. 17 2014, (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan held a parliamentary election largely described as being designed to re-enforce the government’s authority. Only four pro-president parties were allowed to contest the election to the 150-seat lower house of parliament. Europe’s main election watchdog, the OSCE, said the election was uncompetitive.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 213, published on Jan. 7 2015)

Uzbekistan sets presidential election

DEC. 26 2014, (The Conway Bulletin) — The Uzbek Central Election Commission set a presidential election for March 29 2015. It is thought that the incumbent president, Islam Karimov, will campaign in the election. He has been in power since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, although his personal authority has waned.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 213, published on Jan. 7

2015)

CIS mission to observe Uzbek election

DEC. 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) said it had dispatched its mission to observe parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan later this month. The OSCE, Europe’s election and democracy watchdog, has already said it is going to send a limited mission because it expects the vote to be fixed.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 212, published on Dec. 10 2014)

Turkmenistan held municipal elections

NOV. 26 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan held municipal elections on Nov. 23 which, according to a blog post on the US-fund Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website, failed to generate much interest. The blog reported that although official turnout was 92.76%, it was difficult to find people who had voted.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 211, published on Dec. 3 2014)

OSCE snubs Uzbek election

DEC. 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The OSCE said it does not expect the Uzbek parliamentary election on Dec. 21 to be either free or fair and that it will be sending only a small group to the vote.

In total the OSCE will send 20 observers to cover the election in Uzbekistan, a country with 30m people and 135 electoral districts.

The Uzbek government, though, had a slightly different way of interpreting the OSCE’s perceived snub. It said that the OSCE’s limited observation mission was because there had been large improvements in the process.

“There is a unanimous opinion that no problems are expected,” the Uzbek government said in a statement. The OSCE has never judged an election in post-Soviet Uzbekistan to be either free or fair.

Of course, in a way, the Uzbek government is correct. There are no problems expected in terms of the result.

The Uzbek government made sure that only four pro- president political parties were allowed to run for the 135 seats. The Uzbek Central Election Commission rejected the unofficial Erk opposition party’s registration application.

The importance of these parliamentary elections is not that they will, or even could, trigger a change in how Uzbekistan is run, instead they are an indicator ahead of presidential elections in 2015.

Signals from Uzbekistan have suggested that President Islam Karimov’s position has been weakened by a prolonged power struggle over the past year. If any strong contenders emerge out of the parliamentary elections, even from the pro-presidential parties, it could make for a more dynamic presidential vote.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 211, published on Dec. 3 2014)

OSCE to limit team at Uzbek election

NOV. 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The OSCE, Europe’s election monitoring watchdog, said it will send a limited observation mission to Uzbekistan’s parliamentary elections on Dec. 21. The OSCE has never judged an election in Uzbekistan to be free and fair and has said it is pointless sending a larger team to the vote.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)