Uzbek leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev uses power obtained in last week’s referendum to call snap presidential election

Uzbekistan will hold a snap presidential election on July 9, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced Monday, just one week after constitutional amendments that reset his term count to zero passed in a referendum.

According to the plebiscite’s official results, more than 90 percent of voters approved the proposal to increase Uzbekistan’s presidential term lengths from five to seven years and to wipe Mirziyoyev’s first two terms from his term count. The reforms, which came into effect on Monday, also made it possible for the president to call snap elections at all.

Mirziyoyev has been Uzbekistan’s president since 2016, when long-time dictator Islam Karimov died. The country’s previous constitution would have allowed him to remain in power until 2026, while the new version allows him to stay in office until 2040.