UPDATE - Voting In Uzbekistan's Presidential Election Kicks Off On Sunday

TASHKENT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th October, 2021) Polling stations have opened in Uzbekistan, where people are electing the new president on Sunday.

Voting started at 8 a.m. local time (03:00 GMT) and will end at 8 p.m. on Sunday.

Commenting on the voting process, the head of the monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, Daniela De Ridder, said that the presidential election was well-organized and held in a transparent manner.

The OSCE mission head noted that the representatives of all five political parties registered in the country were present at polling stations and could monitor the process.

The monitoring mission was divided into 42 groups, each of which must visit at least 10 polling stations, De Ridder said, adding they have been working in different cities across the country for two days.

All five political parties registered in Uzbekistan were able to nominate their candidates for the presidential election and the registration of the candidates was completed in mid-September.

Incumbent Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, 64, from the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party (UzLiDeP), is expected to win the vote. Mirziyoyev, who took office in 2016, has spoken in favor of expanding cooperation with Russia, China and the US, as well as for Eurasian Economic Union integration.