Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev speaks during a South Korea-Uzbekistan business forum, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017, in Seoul. EFE/Jeon Heon-Kyun/FILE

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev wins 3rd term with more than 87% of votes

Moscow, July 10 (EFE).- Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has won a third term as head of state with more than 87 percent of the votes, according to preliminary data from the Central Election Commission on Monday.

Some 19.5 million citizens, or 79.8 percent of eligible voters, exercised their right to chose the new government in the election on Sunday,

The president called for early elections following constitutional referendum in May.

The reform extended the presidential term from five to seven years and allowed Mirziyoyev to serve two more presidential terms, which means that the 65-year-old incumbent could stay in power until at least 2037.

None of the registered parties openly oppose the reform.

Three more contestants nominated by political parties to run in the election were Ulugbek Inoyatov, Abdushukur Khamzayev, and Robakhon Makhmudova.

Makhmudova came a distant second with 4.3 percent of the votes, followed by Inoyatov with 4.02 percent.

The results are not final yet, which throw slight variations.

Mirziyoyev, who has been in power since 2016, improved on his 2021 reelection results when he received more than 80 percent of the votes.

The president called for early presidential elections in May following the constitutional reform on April 30. EFE

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