Uzbek President Calls for Early Polls After Referendum
TASHKENT (AFP) -- Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Monday called an early presidential election for July, his office said, after a referendum allowing him to remain in power for two more terms.
In late April, the Central Asian country approved constitutional changes allowing Mirziyoyev, 65, to extend his hold on power in a tightly controlled referendum slammed by international observers as flawed. Mirziyoyev set the early election for July 9, according to a decree released by the presidential administration.