Uzbekistan's interim president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has been nominated to run in the country's December 4 presidential election, the central election commission of Uzbekistan said on Friday.
According to some experts, Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan's prime minister since 2003, is widely expected to win the presidency, succeeding Islam Karimov, who had ruled the country for 27 years, until his death from a stroke earlier this month.
Uzbekistan's Liberal-Democratic Party nominated Mirziyoyev at a convention on Friday, the election authority said on its Facebook page.
Another party, Milliy Tiklanish (National Revival), nominated its own leader, Sarvar Otamurodov, deputy speaker of the legislative chamber of parliament, the election commission said.
Earlier this month, Uzbekistan's parliament named Mirziyoyev, 59, as interim president, after Senate Chairman Nigmatilla Yuldashev, who should have become transitional leader under the constitution, bowed out in his favor, saying Mirziyoyev had long experience in office and enjoyed the people's respect.
Mirziyoyev was also the official mourner-in-chief at Karimov's funeral and met Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, strong signs that he is likely to succeed Karimov.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev (born July 24, 1957]) is an Uzbek politician who has been Prime Minister of Uzbekistan since 2003. Following the death of President Islam Karimov, he was appointed by Parliament as interim President of Uzbekistan on September 8, 2016
Mirziyoyev graduated from the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Melioration in 1981. He holds a Candidate (PhD) degree in Technological Sciences.
