Uzbekistan's parliament voted Monday to cut the presidential mandate from the current seven years to five years, with legislators saying longer terms in office were no longer needed. The members of the Senate - the upper house - approved the law to change the constitution. It will come into force after President Islam Karimov signs it.
The change, initiated by Karimov himself, was a logical result of the political reforms carried out in the country, Senator Svetlana Artikova told reporters after the approval. "In the early years of our independence, the importance of a strong political will to drag out the country from crisis and unite people was huge," Artikova said.
"Now we have enough effective legislative, executive and judicial branches of the government and a well functioning checks and balances system between them," she said. The president's term in office was extended from five to seven years by referendum in 2002. The last presidential elections were held in 2007 which Karimov won with over 88 percent of the vote. The law change does not affect the president's current term which will continue until 2014. After 2014 polls, the next elections would then take place in 2019.