You are here
Home > News > Uzbekistan proposes new constitution extending presidential terms

Uzbekistan proposes new constitution extending presidential terms

Uzbekistan’s parliament passed a law on Friday calling a constitutional referendum on April 30 that, if passed, would allow President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to run again when his second term ends in 2026.

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 Central Asia’s most populous nation until 2040.

The new version of the constitution would also declare the former Soviet republic a “social state” with increased welfare obligations.

Mirziyoyev, 65, dropped plans to include changes that would have curbed the autonomy of Uzbekistan’s Karakalpakstan province after protests against them led to deadly unrest last July.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Top