Uzbekistan votes in poll expected to re-elect Karimov

[WorldNews]

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Polling stations opened Sunday in the ex-Soviet state of Uzbekistan for a ballot that is almost certain to re-elect 77-year-old strongman incumbent President Islam Karimov. Voting at more than 9,000 polling stations across the country began at 0100 GMT and will continue until 1500 GMT, according to the country's central election commission. Karimov, who has ruled the country since before the collapse of the Soviet Union, faces three other opponents put forward by parties in the Uzbek parliament that are openly supportive of his presidency. Akmal Saidov, put forward by the Democratic National Renaissance Party, faced Karimov in the country's last presidential poll in 2007, but claimed less than three percent of the vote as Karimov took close to 90 percent.

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