All five pro-govt parties enter Uzbek parliament: results

All five pro-government parties that competed in Uzbekistan's first elections under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took seats in the country's parliament, preliminary results showed Monday.

Mirziyoyev, who took charge of Central Asia's most populous state in 2016 after the death of hardline predecessor and former patron Islam Karimov, described Sunday's vote as "historic."

But the election lacked opposition representatives and all five parties competing were already represented in the outgoing parliament, which is known for rubber-stamping government policy.

Results based on voting in 128 out of 150 districts announced by the Central Asian country's central electoral commission showed the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan leading with 43 seats in the 150-member lower house.

 

Milli Tiklanish, known in English as the National Revival Democratic Party, trailed it with 35.

The People's Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party also known as Adolat and the Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan also secured seats in the parliament.

Mirziyoyev has been lauded for doing away with many of Karimov's authoritarian excesses, releasing some political prisoners, battling forced labour and opening up the landlocked state to tourism and foreign investment.

The election was held under the slogan "New Uzbekistan, new elections" as authorities sought to portray them as the latest example of a newfound openness.

Nevertheless, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), has said many features of past votes remain in place, and noted "little evidence of outdoor campaign activities" in its pre-election report.

George Tsereteli, who leads the body's Parliamentary Assembly, told AFP on Sunday that Uzbekistan was undergoing a "process of political development."

"Of course, there is an absence here of clear opposition parties and opposition positions and that will probably be noted," he said.

The OSCE mission, which included over 300 observers and was the largest in Uzbekistan's history, will hold its briefing on the vote at 3 pm local time (1000 GMT).