TASHKENT -- Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev has proposed amendments to the constitution that, among other things, may allow him to seek a third term in office.
Mirziyoev said on June 20 that almost 48,500 proposals on constitutional amendments had been received from the country’s citizens since he proposed the amendments in December.
"I think if we conduct constitutional reforms via a referendum, taking into account the opinion and support of our citizens, that will be our people's volition, a real people's constitution," Mirziyoev said, adding that the constitutional changes "are necessary due to current dangerous times and complex situations." He did not elaborate.
Sodiq Safoev, first deputy chairman of the Uzbek parliament's upper chamber, said earlier in an interview with the Kun.uz online newspaper that the amendments would “nullify" Mirziyoev's previous presidential terms and allow him to seek a third term.
Current election laws limit a president’s time in office to two five-year terms.
Mirziyoev, 64, was reelected to his current second presidential term in October last year. He faced four little-known candidates who were largely pro-government. Three opposition parties were not allowed to register or have candidates in the race.
Mirziyoev also addressed the death penalty in his comments on June 20, saying a ban on the punishment must be enshrined in the constitution. Uzbekistan has maintained a moratorium on capital punishment since the early 1990s.
Mirziyoev opened up Central Asia's most populous nation of some 35 million people to foreign investment, improved Uzbekistan’s relations with its neighbors, eased restrictions on religious freedoms, and released dozens of political prisoners after he came to power following the death of his authoritarian predecessor, Islam Karimov, in 2016.
But like his predecessor, Mirziyoev exercises virtually unrestrained political power in Uzbekistan and his relatives have been accused of using his political clout to amass wealth.