A vast majority of Uzbekistan’s voters voted “Yes” to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s bid to rewrite the country’s Constitution in a referendum.
President Mirziyoyev’s narrative is that the new Constitution gives emphasis on human rights, freedoms, gender equality, economic growth, and prosperity.
- The amendments aimed to enhance various rights and freedoms of the citizens, such as abolishing the death penalty, strengthening the judiciary, and ensuring gender equality.
- However, they also extended the presidential term from five to seven years and allowed Mirziyoyev to run for two more terms after his current one ends in 2024.
- According to the preliminary results announced by the Central Election Commission, 90.21% of voters supported the constitutional changes, while 9.35% voted against them.