Uzbekistan's Mirziyoyev inaugurates second term

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was inaugurated for a second five-year term Saturday in the country's capital Tashkent.

He won the presidency with 80.1% of the vote in elections late last month.

Despite the absence of significant competition, voter turnout was strong at 80.8%.

International observers have welcomed recent reforms in Uzbekistan but said the improvements "have not yet resulted in a genuinely pluralistic environment" for competitive elections.

Mirziyoyev, who took office in 2016 following the death of longtime President Islam Karimov, has relaxed many of the policies of his dictatorial predecessor but maintained rigid controls over the political scene.

Under Mirziyoyev, freedom of speech has expanded compared with the suppression of the Karimov era, and some independent news media and bloggers have appeared.

IMAGE: AP