Voting begins for constitutional referendum in Uzbekistan

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan

Uzbek voters on Sunday started to cast their ballots in a constitutional referendum which envisions major legislative changes, including increasing the country’s presidential term from five to seven years.

Voting began at 8 a.m. local time (0300GMT) in nearly 11,000 ballot boxes set up across the country, and will continue until 8 p.m. (1500GMT).

Nearly 19.7 million registered voters are able to vote in the constitutional referendum, with 307,895 of them abroad to vote in 55 ballot boxes established in 39 countries, including Türkiye.

The referendum is set on changing articles in the country’s constitution related to human rights and freedoms, as well as social and administrative reforms.

In the new constitution, norms regarding the social obligations of the state will be increased threefold, including the one saying: "To ensure human rights and freedoms is the highest aim of the state."

It also envisions reducing the number of members in the Senate, the upper house of the country's parliament, from 100 to 65.

The new constitution also seeks to transfer some duties and powers of the president to the parliament and increase the president's term of office from five to seven years, with a limit of only two terms in a row.

On March 10, the Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan, the lower house of the parliament, adopted the law "on new regulations in the Uzbekistan constitution," after which the Senate approved the draft constitution and that the new regulations and amendments to be placed to a public vote.

*Writing by Burc Eruygur in Istanbul