The day job kept me from posting it earlier, so RFE/RL has already beaten me to the punch, but Uzbekistan’s Liberal Democratic Party has indicated that it may have a candidate for the coming presidential election. You’ll never guess who they have in mind…
From RFE/RL:
A member of Uzbekistan’s Liberal Democratic Party’s (UzLiDeP) central committee confirmed today a plan to nominate Karimov for a third term. Speaking to RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service after an UzLiDeP meeting today in Tashkent, a party member who wished to remain anonymous said the decision by the party’s leadership must still be confirmed at a party congress in early November.
An UzLiDeP member said Karimov was the only candidate discussed during the meeting. Under current legislation, candidate registration will begin on October 19. Campaigning should start 20 days after that.
Also in the story is the super-awesome plan for making Karimov’s third term legally legitimate without changing the constitution. The argument would go that his current term is his first because it his first seven-year term, meaning he is eligible for another one of those. His first ten-year term wouldn’t count because it was under a different set of rules. So, should he be struck with a bout of longevity and need to run again in 2014, all it would take to make him eligible is some other constitutional change to the executive in the interim. Nice.
This post was written by...
Nathan Hamm – author of 2040 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan founded Registan.net in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural factors shape risks and opportunities. Follow him on Twitter or drop him a line.
{ 6 comments }
He’s got to be in office longer than Rashidov, after all.
The most habitually funny thing I”ve read in a whole day. Same old, same old, things never change at certain quarters. How comforting.
Nathan, my gravatar is getting a bit stale – have you anything exciting for a present (another one)?
What a surprise! Does it really matter if he is up for election or not. He could have taken the Putin route. There are only two ways for this dictator to go. Death or through violence. The longer he is in office and continues with his abuse the more his family will pay.
Noah, let it go. If you are frustrated for being bullied this summer and your visa, now think about all of us and our families that have been bullied by this idiot and self admitted human rights abuser for the past 18 years. No one can express their opinion unless one is ready to do 10 hard years or have family members disappear on them. However, each year more and more people are speaking out among themselves and how they cannot wait until they get their hands on him and his family one day. We never expected to get our independence in 1991 and one day very soon when no one expects it, this idiot will disappear from our lives and hopefully we can all live happily and peacefully. However, there will be no peace for the cowards that carry out his abuse on the nation and the ones that profit with him.
OK Nathan, you win. I mistakenly thought Uzbekistan might follow in Putin’s footsteps…
It’s a crapshoot Laurence. They should make dice specifically for these kinds of situations.