Uzbekistani presidential election, 2007
Encyclopedia
A presidential election was held in Uzbekistan
on 23 December 2007.
Incumbent Islam Karimov's term was considered to have ended on 22 January 2007, based on the Constitution of Uzbekistan
, but the electoral legislation states that "an election must be held in December of the year in which the president's term expires"; this de facto extension of Karimov's term to eight years has been heavily criticised by the opposition.
Although Karimov was widely considered to be constitutionally ineligible for another term, analysts expected him to remain in power. Of the six candidates announced by September 2007, only Dilorom Toshmuhamedova of the Justice Social Democratic Party
had officially filed with the Electoral Commission; there were rumours that the other five (Suhbat Abdullayev, Akbar Aliyev, Abdullo Tojiboy O‘g‘li, Axtam Shoymardonov and Jahongir Shosalimov) have been pressured into running to make Uzbekistan appear more democratic than it really is. By early October, two other candidates had filed: Xurshid Do‘stmuhammad (or Do‘stmuhamedov) of the Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party
and Axtam Tursunov of Self-Sacrifice National Democratic Party
. The Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party
said in early October that it intended to nominate Karimov. On 6 November, Karimov was unanimously chosen as the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential candidate at a party convention in Tashkent, and Karimov accepted the nomination.
A legal explanation to justify Karimov's candidacy, in light of the constitutional limit of two terms for presidents, was not officially given. It was suggested that, because Karimov had only served one seven-year term (he was first elected to a five-year term, which was later extended by referendum), he is eligible to run for a second seven-year term; by this reasoning his first term would not count toward the total.
On 19 November, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission, Mirza-Ulug‘bek Abdusalomov, announced that the candidacies of Karimov, Toshmuhamedova (the first woman to run in an Uzbek presidential election), Asliddin Rustamov of the Uzbekistan People's Democratic Party, and Akmal Saidov (who was nominated by a citizens' group) were approved. Two candidates, including Abdullo Tojiboy O‘g‘li, were rejected by the Commission on the grounds that they had not collected enough signatures, with signatures from 5% of eligible voters being required. The Commission did not explain its reasoning in approving Karimov's candidacy. Opposition groups reacted with anger and bitterness toward the Commission's decision, which they considered illegal. Aside from Karimov, the other three candidates approved by the Commission are considered friendly towards the government, and their participation was criticized as window-dressing for an election in which there was no genuine opposition.
By midday on 23 December, 59.8% of eligible voters had participated according to the Central Election Commission, exceeding the 33.3% minimum participation rate to make the election valid. Preliminary official results released by the Central Election Commission on December 24 showed Karimov winning with 88.1% of the vote, on a turnout rate that was placed at 90.6%. Rustamov was placed second with 3.17%, followed by Toshmuhamedova with 2.94% and Saidov with 2.85%.
While the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) had a team of 21 observers in the country, it officially considered the elections "pointless due to the obvious limited nature of the competition". The OSCE observers criticized the election as lacking a "genuine choice", and OSCE spokesperson Urður Gunnarsdóttir said that the "election was held in a very controlled political environment, which did not really leave much room for real opposition and this election failed to meet many of the commitments that OSCE states have made to hold democratic elections." She also said that the seemingly positive presence of four candidates in the election had been undermined by the other candidates' endorsement of Karimov. The OSCE also questioned the official turnout figure of 90.6%.
Observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States
and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
gave the election a positive assessment.
Karimov was sworn in for his new term on January 16, 2008, saying on the occasion that he would "mobilize all my power, knowledge and experience to fully implement all our priority goals set out in the election program".
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
on 23 December 2007.
Incumbent Islam Karimov's term was considered to have ended on 22 January 2007, based on the Constitution of Uzbekistan
Constitution of Uzbekistan
The Constitution of Uzbekistan was originally adopted on 8 December 1992 and subsequently modified on 28 December 1993. It is the supreme law of the Republic of Uzbekistan .-Overview:...
, but the electoral legislation states that "an election must be held in December of the year in which the president's term expires"; this de facto extension of Karimov's term to eight years has been heavily criticised by the opposition.
Although Karimov was widely considered to be constitutionally ineligible for another term, analysts expected him to remain in power. Of the six candidates announced by September 2007, only Dilorom Toshmuhamedova of the Justice Social Democratic Party
Justice Social Democratic Party
The Justice Social Democratic Party is a Centre-left, social democratic, political party in Uzbekistan. One of the founders and the first general secretary of the party was Anvar Juraboev...
had officially filed with the Electoral Commission; there were rumours that the other five (Suhbat Abdullayev, Akbar Aliyev, Abdullo Tojiboy O‘g‘li, Axtam Shoymardonov and Jahongir Shosalimov) have been pressured into running to make Uzbekistan appear more democratic than it really is. By early October, two other candidates had filed: Xurshid Do‘stmuhammad (or Do‘stmuhamedov) of the Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party
Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party
The Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party is a political party in Uzbekistan. The party is one of the country's four 'officially sanctioned' parties along with the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party and the Justice Social Democratic...
and Axtam Tursunov of Self-Sacrifice National Democratic Party
Self-Sacrifice National Democratic Party
The Self-Sacrifice National Democratic Party was a political party in Uzbekistan. At the 2004–2005 parliamentary elections, the party won 18 out of the 120 seats in the Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan, the lower house of the Oliy Majlis. In 2008, the party merged with the Uzbekistan National...
. The Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party
Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party
The Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party is a political party in Uzbekistan, and is considered a center-left party. During the 2004-2005 legislative election, the party won 41 out of 120 seats, and in the Uzbekistani parliamentary election, 2009–2010, it won 55 out of 150.The party said on 4...
said in early October that it intended to nominate Karimov. On 6 November, Karimov was unanimously chosen as the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential candidate at a party convention in Tashkent, and Karimov accepted the nomination.
A legal explanation to justify Karimov's candidacy, in light of the constitutional limit of two terms for presidents, was not officially given. It was suggested that, because Karimov had only served one seven-year term (he was first elected to a five-year term, which was later extended by referendum), he is eligible to run for a second seven-year term; by this reasoning his first term would not count toward the total.
On 19 November, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission, Mirza-Ulug‘bek Abdusalomov, announced that the candidacies of Karimov, Toshmuhamedova (the first woman to run in an Uzbek presidential election), Asliddin Rustamov of the Uzbekistan People's Democratic Party, and Akmal Saidov (who was nominated by a citizens' group) were approved. Two candidates, including Abdullo Tojiboy O‘g‘li, were rejected by the Commission on the grounds that they had not collected enough signatures, with signatures from 5% of eligible voters being required. The Commission did not explain its reasoning in approving Karimov's candidacy. Opposition groups reacted with anger and bitterness toward the Commission's decision, which they considered illegal. Aside from Karimov, the other three candidates approved by the Commission are considered friendly towards the government, and their participation was criticized as window-dressing for an election in which there was no genuine opposition.
By midday on 23 December, 59.8% of eligible voters had participated according to the Central Election Commission, exceeding the 33.3% minimum participation rate to make the election valid. Preliminary official results released by the Central Election Commission on December 24 showed Karimov winning with 88.1% of the vote, on a turnout rate that was placed at 90.6%. Rustamov was placed second with 3.17%, followed by Toshmuhamedova with 2.94% and Saidov with 2.85%.
While the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) had a team of 21 observers in the country, it officially considered the elections "pointless due to the obvious limited nature of the competition". The OSCE observers criticized the election as lacking a "genuine choice", and OSCE spokesperson Urður Gunnarsdóttir said that the "election was held in a very controlled political environment, which did not really leave much room for real opposition and this election failed to meet many of the commitments that OSCE states have made to hold democratic elections." She also said that the seemingly positive presence of four candidates in the election had been undermined by the other candidates' endorsement of Karimov. The OSCE also questioned the official turnout figure of 90.6%.
Observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Shanghai Cooperation Organization
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO , is an intergovernmental mutual-security organisation which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan...
gave the election a positive assessment.
Karimov was sworn in for his new term on January 16, 2008, saying on the occasion that he would "mobilize all my power, knowledge and experience to fully implement all our priority goals set out in the election program".
External links
- Pictures of the candidates and presentation in Uzbek language
- "Uzbekistan's president guaranteed re-election", Al Jazeera (video report), 23 December 2007.