Presidential election in Uzbekistan 2000
The 2000 Uzbek presidential election was held on January 9, 2000 and was the second presidential election in the history of independent Uzbekistan . The winner was the incumbent Islom Karimov , who was the first president of Uzbekistan in office since the presidential election in Uzbekistan in 1991 .
background
Karimov was elected President of the young state of Uzbekistan in 1991 with 86% of the votes cast. This first presidential election in the history of Uzbekistan was already heavily criticized by foreign observers and the Uzbek opposition. After the election, Karimov consolidated his position of power and extended his term in office through a referendum in 1995 to 2000, so that the second presidential election in Uzbekistan was held nine years after the first. A few weeks before the presidential election, the parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan in 1999 were held, which were also marked by the repression of opposition parties and a lack of pluralism .
Candidates
Karimov was elected president of the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan in 1991 , but in 2000 he ran for the Fidokorlar party, which, thanks to its regime-friendly orientation, was able to rise to the second strongest force in the previous parliamentary election. The only opposing candidate, Abdulhafiz Jalolov, was nominated by the People's Democratic Party, which also stood behind its former party leader and President Karimov. Opposition candidates were not allowed to vote, so there could be no doubt about the outcome of the election in advance of the election. The lack of political competition became particularly evident when the alleged opposing candidate Jalolov stated in a television interview before election day that he would vote for Karimov. Before the election, Karimov himself promised to initiate comprehensive economic and political reforms in the event of re-election.
Result
As expected in the run-up to the election, incumbent Karimov won the election well ahead of his loyal rival candidate Jalolov. With a turnout that, according to official figures, was 95%, the result was the following:
| candidate | Share of votes cast |
|---|---|
| Islom Karimov | 91.9% |
| Abdulhafiz Jalolov | 4.2% |
| invalid | 3.9% |
| total | 100% |
| voter turnout | 95% |
By winning the election, Karimov was legitimized for another five-year term until 2005.
rating
In protest against the obvious irregularities and the suppression of the opposition in the previous elections, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe did not send an observer mission to the presidential election, but referred to the political culture in Uzbekistan under Karimov, which does not allow political competition. In a press release from the United States Department of State , the election was deemed neither free nor fair because it did not provide voters with a real choice. The United States also called on Uzbekistan to strengthen human and civil rights in the Central Asian country.
consequences
Just two years after winning the presidential election, Karimov held another referendum to extend his term in 2002, which extended it from five to seven years. In the presidential elections in Uzbekistan in 2007 , he could not officially run again according to the Uzbek constitution, as a third term in a row would have contradicted it. However, prior to the 2007 presidential election, the Uzbek electoral authorities officially determined that Karimov's first term had only begun in 2000, despite the fact that Karimov had already served as president from 1991 to 2000. Thus, a renewed candidacy of Karimov in 2007 and thus his long-term retention of power was secured.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Uzbekistan's Parliamentary Elections: Business As Usual (Except For One Thing). Retrieved April 2, 2020 .
- ↑ Jessen, Ralph., Richter, Hedwig., University of Cologne .: Voting for Hitler and Stalin: elections under 20th century dictatorships . Campus Verlag, Frankfurt 2011, ISBN 978-3-593-39489-3 , pp. 218 .
- ↑ Karatnycky, Adrian., Motyl, Alexander J., Schnetzer, Amanda., Freedom House (US): Nations in transit, 2001: civil society, democracy, and markets in East Central Europe and the newly independent states . Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, NJ 2001, ISBN 0-7658-0897-8 .
- ↑ Human Rights Watch | 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor | New York, NY 10118-3299 USA | t 1.212.290.4700: Uzbekistan: President Rigs Extended Term of Office. January 24, 2002, accessed April 2, 2020 .
- ↑ 1/12/2000: Uzbekistan: Presidential Elections Flawed. Retrieved April 2, 2020 .
- ^ Luke Harding: Uzbek president returned in election 'farce' . In: The Guardian . December 24, 2007, ISSN 0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed April 2, 2020]).
- ^ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Presidential election announced in Uzbekistan | DW | 09/20/2007. Accessed April 2, 2020 (German).
