Uzbekistan's prime minister wins presidential poll

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan

Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev was elected president of Uzbekistan, the Central Election Commission said Monday.

Mirziyoyev, who took over as acting president when long-serving leader, Islam Karimov died in September after 27 years in office. The Liberal Democratic Party leader secured 88.61 percent of the votes in Sunday's election.

Hotamjon Ketmonov of the People’s Democratic Party claimed 3.73 percent of the votes while Sarvar Otamuratov from the National Revival Democratic Party received 2.35 percent. Nariman Umarov from the Justice Social Democratic Party secured 3.46 percent.

More than 20 million Uzbeks were eligible to vote in the election, which was monitored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

In a statement late Monday, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry praised the election, saying it had been carried out in a “peaceful” environment, and pledged to continue to boost relations with Uzbekistan.

It also said Turkey was "ready" to support Mirziyoyev's efforts for the welfare of the Uzbek people.

*Reporting by Bahtiyar Abdukerimov; Writing by Diyar Guldogan