Snap presidential vote under way in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan’s president Shavkat Mirziyoyev was elected in 2021 to a second five-year term (Uzbekistan’s Presidential Press Office via AP)

Voters in Uzbekistan were casting their ballots in a snap presidential election that is widely expected to extend the incumbent’s rule by seven more years.

The vote followed a constitutional referendum that extended a presidential term from five to seven years and allowed President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to run for two more terms in office.