DUSHANBE, December 26, Asia-Plus — It could be said that the Uzbek incumbent president ran for presidency unopposed, because other candidates are virtually unknown, Tajik political scientist Parviz Mullojonov said in an interview with Asia-Plus, commenting on Sunday’s presidential election in Uzbekistan.
According to him, there were no any serious political parties or public associations, factions or regional bureaucratic groups behind those candidates. “There were no so-called “centers of influence” behind them that could provide alternative to the incumbent president and policy conducted by him,” said Mr. Mullojonov, “Therefore, long before the election there was no doubt that Islam Karimov will win it.”
Tajik expert added that real alternative to the present Uzbek regime can become Islamic radical groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir or Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), because at this moment in time, the Uzbek democratic secular opposition is weakened. That is why major part of Uzbek society, first of all, local intelligentsia, has no choice but to vote for the incumbent president, Mullojonov said.
On the difference of assessments of the Western organizations, in particular the OSCE, and the CIS observers of the presidential election in Uzbekistan, he said “the observers made conclusions being guided by political/geopolitical reasons.”
We will recall that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said the election had been “held in a strictly controlled political environment, leaving no room for real opposition”. “The election generally failed to meet many OSCE commitments for democratic elections,” said a statement from the organization. Meanwhile, a statement from the CIS observers was less critical.
On the bilateral relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Mr. Mullojonov noted, “Unfortunately, victory of Islam Karimov in the election will not make any essential positive changes to relations between the two countries, because Tajik-Uzbek contradictions, in many respects, have objective reasons, including use of water and energy resources in the region.”
