Eliminating Presidential Candidates In Central Asia
July 18, 2021 07:52 GMT
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Jahongir Otajonov just dropped out of the presidential race in Uzbekistan.
“My parents tears are too high a price to pay,” Otajonov said on Instagram when he announced he was withdrawing as the unregistered Erk Democratic Party s candidate due to pressure on his family.
The obstacles to running for president in Uzbekistan, and in Central Asia, for genuine opposition candidates are formidable.
Incumbents in the region don t appreciate people with fresh ideas, and they tend to use law enforcement, the judicial system, and sometimes thugs to eliminate unwelcome competitors from elections.
Uzbek Officials Scramble To Spruce Up Neighborhoods, Fearing A Surprise Presidential Visit
April 05, 2021 08:35 GMT
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Preparations are in full swing for a presidential visit in the Uzbek city of Jizzakh and its suburbs, where roads are being repaired and walls are being repainted.
The Jizzakh provincial government has ordered all neighborhood committees to prepare for a possible visit by President Shavkat Mirziyoev. The governor s office said, The president can arrive at any moment, so be ready, one neighborhood committee member told RFE/RL s Uzbek Service on condition of anonymity.
Similar preparations for presidential visits have been under way since late March in several other provinces, with the authorities paying particular attention to renovation work in less prosperous residential neighborhoods.
Ahead Of Vote And Amid Attacks On Critics, Uzbek President Criminalizes Online Insults
April 01, 2021 08:28 GMT
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Six months ahead of a planned presidential election and with physical attacks on government critics mounting, Uzbekistan has criminalized insult and slander of the president in digital and online form.
The Uzbek Justice Ministry announced the immediate implementation of the defamation clauses via Telegram on March 31 and said offenders could face up to five years in prison.
It cited amendments to that post-Soviet Central Asian republic s Criminal Code and legislation signed the previous day by President Shavkat Mirziyoev, who took over in a disputed handover after the death of his long-serving predecessor in 2016.