Moscow – The prime minister of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has been elected president with more than 88 per cent of the vote following the death of longtime ruler Islam Karimov, Russian state news agency TASS reports.
Mirziyoyev, prime minister for 13 years, has vowed to push ahead with the legacy of Karimov, who succumbed to complications from a stroke in September at the age of 78 after ruling for more than a quarter-century.
Mirziyoyev, 59, was named acting president after the death and was widely expected to win the election. Russian President Vladimir Putin promptly congratulated him on his victory.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev votes at a polling station in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Sunday. He was named the country’s new president the next day.(Photo: Sadat/Xinhua via ZUMA Wire)
Mirziyoyev, a career politician, previously served as governor of two regions, first of his home region, Jizzakh, and then of Karimov’s home region, Samarkand. Mirziyoyev is believed to have become a close confidant of Karimov while heading the Samarkand region, where Karimov is now buried.
Uzbekistan has remained largely within Russia’s sphere of influence since Soviet times, but has also provided crucial footing to the US for its war in Afghanistan. Located on the ancient Silk Road trade route, Uzbekistan is considered strategically important in the fight against drug trafficking and international terrorism.
-dpa
