Uzbekistan is voting on constitutional amendments which promise greater social protection in exchange for extending the president's term in power.

Polls opened at 8 a.m. local time (0300 UTC/GMT), according to the election commission. They closed at 8 p.m.

If adopted, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's term count would be reset to zero — even though he has begun his second of two permitted periods in office — and extend the presidential terms to seven years, from five.

The 65-year-old president could then potentially remain in power until 2040, whereas as it stands his mandate would expire in elections scheduled for 2026. 

Several other autocratic leaders like Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan have undertaken similar measures to extend their roughly 20-year periods in power. 

Mirziyoyev's spearheaded reforms, clamped-down on dissent

Islam Karimov, a hardliner, was the former president who died in 2016 after a brutal rule for over a quarter century.

Mirziyoyev who was his loyal prime minister for 13 years came to power in 2016.

Today he projects himself as a much more progressive figure and spearheaded multiple reforms in the country, including a crackdown on forced labor in cotton fields and criminalizing domestic violence. 

He won a second term with 80% of the vote in October 2021.

However, activists allege that rights abuses continue and authorities are not allowing the emergence of an opposition.

Rights activists also accuse the authorities of using lethal force killing 21 people during a demonstration in 2022.

A promised 'new Uzbekistan'

Currently, Uzbekistan is emerging from a harsh winter marked by shortages of fuel, poverty and endemic corruption.

If the amendments are adopted, Mirziyoyev believes it would be the reckoning of a "new Uzbekistan" which would be a "social state" with improved governance and quality of life.

The reforms include abolishing the death penalty, establishing greater personal legal protection, for instance more personal rights for someone detained by police, allowing non-farming land ownership, and protection against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment.

Local celebrities have attended large rallies and concerts to praise both the proposals and the president. But journalists in Uzbekistan have alleged that censorship has grown during the referendum campaign.

The referendum will be declared valid only if more than half of Uzbekistan's 19.7 million eligible voters participate. Preliminary vote results are expected on Monday.

ns/msh (AFP, Reuters)