Uzbek leader holds early election to extend rule

FILE PHOTO: Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev applauds during a signing ceremony on the sidelines of the China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China, May 18, 2023. Mark Cristino/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

TASHKENT (Reuters) -Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev holds an early election on Sunday to extend his rule for another seven years, just months after changing the constitution to lift term limits that would have required him to step aside in 2026.

Mirziyoyev, 65, has brought Uzbekistan out of near-isolation since taking power in 2016 after the death of autocrat Islam Karimov, who had ruled since the Soviet era and kept the country closed to much of the world.