Uzbekistan votes this Sunday (24) in an election that is expected to confirm the re-election of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, after a first term marked by liberal reforms, but which now appear threatened by the return of authoritarianism.
Mirziyoyev, 64, who has ruled Central Asia’s most populous country since 2016, has abolished forced labor, opened up the economy and freed opponents detained and tortured by his ruthless predecessor, Islam Karimov.
But the president has recently returned to past practices, with a wave of crackdowns on critics ahead of the vote.
Critics also accuse him of eliminating any real opposition from the electoral contest.
Mirziyoyev faces four candidates considered puppets, who did not criticize the government during the campaign.
Uzbeks interviewed by AFP on this domino in the capital Tashkent, however, seemed more concerned about growing poverty than freedom of expression.
The fuel-rich country was affected by the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Unemployment and the cost of living increased considerably.
A country of 34 million people and bordering Afghanistan, now under the command of the Taliban, Uzbekistan is in a difficult and strategic region, with strong influence from Russia and China.
Five years after the death of former president Karimov, Uzbekistan breathes more freedom. Mirziyoyev ended forced labor in cotton fields, where thousands of minors were being exploited. With the measure, it won much praise from the international community.
But the last two years of his first term were marked by increasing repression of critical bloggers.
Khidirnazar Allakulov, considered one of the few true critics, was not allowed to run for president.
The pandemic has also curbed strong economic growth, ended tourism and fueled popular discontent.
And in an unusual fact, demonstrations were organized in the last year against electricity shortages.
For Temur Umarov, an expert on Central Asia at the Carnegie Center in Moscow, Mirziyoyev is faced with the dilemma of continuing with the reforms without touching the authoritarian system inherited from Karimov, which benefits the elite.
“Corruption still exists at the top of the government, but power turns a blind eye. At the same time, society is more dynamic than at other times and will not accept it if the government does not proceed with the reforms,” he said.
In September, Mirziyoyev said that the definition of democracy in Uzbekistan is not the same as in other countries.
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