Uzbek referendum to allow president to extend rule

Uzbekistan is set to adopt a new constitution in a referendum on Sunday which could allow President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to extend his rule over Central Asia’s most populous nation to 2040.
The 65-year-old leader’s second term ends in 2026 and his move to circumvent term limits is likely to upset Uzbekistan’s Western partners who have previously praised him for opening up the country’s economy and promoting a relatively liberal political agenda.
But such a step is unlikely to disrupt an influx of foreign investment or the courtship of Tashkent, together with other former Soviet republics, by Western nations in their quest to isolate Russia.
Both the current and the proposed new versions of the constitution limit successive presidential terms to two, but officials have said that if the latter is adopted Mirziyoyev’s term count would be reset to zero.
Since the proposed constitution also extends the presidential term to seven years from five, it could in theory allow Mirziyoyev to remain in charge of the country of 35 million people until 2040.