The Uzbeks voted on Sunday in a referendum on a revision of the Constitution which could allow President Shavkat Mirzioev to remain until 2040 at the head of Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia with a political system still padlocked despite d important reforms.
The offices closed at 8:00 p.m. local time (3:00 p.m. GMT) and the turnout exceeded 80% three hours before closing, according to the Electoral Commission, which must announce the final results within ten days. In Uzbekistan, the score of the participation is generally more or less equal to that of the winner.
The authorities maintain that the modification of two thirds of the Constitution will make it possible to democratize and improve the standard of living of the 35 million inhabitants whose rights have long been flouted by a repressive regime. But President Mirzioev will be the main beneficiary.
Among the main measures are the passage from the five-year term to the seven-year term and the reset of the two presidential terms, which in theory will allow the current head of state, aged 65, to remain in power until ‘in 2040.
The adoption of the text is beyond doubt after a one-sided campaign, in a state where the press is still largely controlled. And the only attempt to oppose it had been crushed in blood in July 2022.
Despite everything, the authorities worked to legitimize this new Constitution by mobilizing local celebrities to praise its merits and those of President Mirzioev during major demonstrations and concerts.
Billboards in the capital Tashkent, Central Asia’s largest city, display imaginary text message conversations urging voters to vote, such as “Dad, are we going to the park? No, first we’re going vote”.
This strategy seems to work. “The new Constitution will change my life, but I don’t really know how,” admits Chamsiddin Jouraïev, a 40-year-old entrepreneur met by AFP in Tashkent at the exit of a polling station, where the voting booths had no no curtains.
The Electoral Commission said it was studying the case of a woman who was filmed ticking “yes” on sixteen ballots.
The prospect of seeing President Mirzioev clinging to power, however, tenses some, like Nourkamil, a 70-year-old retiree wishing to remain anonymous who believes that “everything is done so that the president remains in power for life”.
“There needs to be an alternation. Of course, he has implemented reforms and is trying to change things (…) but our power copies the system of Russian President Putin. They are not eternal, you have to respect your people “, he regrets.
Mr. Mirzioev has been trying to present a more modern face since 2016 and the death of his predecessor, the cruel Islam Karimov, of whom he was the faithful Prime Minister for thirteen years.
“If many analysts rightly perceive an attempt to keep Mirzioev in power, it would be a shame to reduce the text to an authoritarian drift”, nuance for AFP Olivier Ferrando, teacher-researcher at the Catholic University of Lyon, France).
Among the novelties, the prohibition of the death penalty and respect for human rights are constitutionalized in this fairer “New Uzbekistan” that Mr. Mirzioev boasts.
“It remains to be seen of course whether this constitutional revision, one of whose objectives is to give guarantees to the international community on the democratic development of New Uzbekistan, will be able to go beyond the simple cosmetic effect to find a full application in the daily life of citizens”, continues Mr. Ferrando.
These citizens, mostly young, are emerging from a particularly harsh winter marked by major gas cuts and have to deal with persistent poverty and endemic corruption.
Despite economic progress and social advances, such as the criminalization of domestic violence and the end of forced labor for teachers, power remains authoritarian.
In July 2022 in the republic of Karakalpakstan, demonstrations against a constitutional amendment, since withdrawn, which would have reduced the autonomy of this immense poor territory in the north of the country, left 21 people dead, according to the authorities.
Interviewed by AFP, two journalists from state media said on condition of anonymity that they had “received instructions to cover Uzbekistan, the referendum and the president in a positive way” and noted a strengthening of censorship as the election approached. ballot.
30/04/2023 18:23:30 – Tashkent (AFP) © 2023 AFP
