Uzbek President Mirziyoyev set to run for second term

Uzbek president Shavkat Mirziyoyev attends a news conference with his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Tashkent, Uzbekistan April 15, 2019. REUTERS/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov

TASHKENT (Reuters) -Uzbekistan’s ruling Liberal Democratic party plans to nominate President Shavkat Mirziyoyev as its candidate in the Oct. 24 election, the party said on Saturday.

Mirziyoyev, 64, is widely expected to run for a second term, and win, but has so far made no comment on his plans. He came to power in 2016 following the death of Islam Karimov, the Central Asian nation's former Soviet leader and first president.