As Uzbekistan Gets Set for Presidential Poll, Karimov Reelection Appears Likely

As Uzbekistan Gets Set for Presidential Poll, Karimov Reelection Appears Likely

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- Bolstered by a European Union decision to lift travel restrictions on senior officials, the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan is moving towards elections set for December amid concerns that the reelection of President Islam Karimov would be an inexorable setback for democracy in the country.

Though he is technically ineligible to stand as a candidate in the polls set for Dec. 23, the Liberal Democratic Party announced this month that Karimov, in power since the Soviet era, would stand for another seven-year term in order to "secure stability, peace and prosperity" for the nation.

The announcement came as little shock to the country of 28 million people.

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