On October 24, Uzbekistan conducts a presidential election. The outcome is not in doubt.
Incumbent Shavkat Mirziyoev has dominated campaign coverage as he seeks a second term in office. In fact, the campaigning of his four opponents has rarely been mentioned by state media.
Since shortly after he became Uzbekistan’s leader in late 2016, Mirziyoev has portrayed himself as a reformer. His government has echoed this appraisal, and it has been picked up by others outside of Uzbekistan.
There have been changes in Uzbekistan during Mirziyoev’s first five years as president -- some positive, some not so positive.
On this week's Majlis podcast, RFE/RL's media-relations manager, Muhammad Tahir, moderates a discussion on the upcoming vote, what has happened during Mirziyoev’s first five years in office, and what could be expected during a second term.
This week's guests are: from Rhode Island, George Krol, a former U.S. ambassador to Uzbekistan and currently an adjunct professor at the U.S. Naval War College; from California, veteran Central Asia watcher Steve Swerdlow, who is a rights lawyer, an associate professor at the University of Southern California, and the author of a recent report on Uzbekistan for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; and from Prague, Barno Anvar, a correspondent for RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service, and Bruce Pannier, the author of the Qishloq Ovozi blog.
Listen to the podcast above or subscribe to the Majlis on iTunes or on Google Podcasts.
