Uzbekistan voted yesterday in an election where hardline President Islam Karimov faced only token opposition to his bid for a new seven-year term as the head of the isolated Central Asian state.
Victory for Karimov was seen as a foregone conclusion in a country with no independent media or opposition parties.
The 69-year-old, best known to the outside world for a bloody 2005 crackdown on unrest in the eastern city of Andijan, barely campaigned, while his three nominal challengers were virtual unknowns.
After voting in Tashkent's polling station number 644, Karimov told state TV that Uzbeks "know what they are voting for: For the country's future, for peace and development of the country and for prosperity."
But many in this ex-Soviet republic of 28 million people can barely imagine an alternative.
"I voted for Karimov. We are all used to him," pensioner Hakim Abdurakhmanov said in Tashkent.
The Central Election Commission reported an enormous turnout, reaching 59.8 percent of the 16 million eligible voters with eight hours before polls closed. A 33 percent turnout was required to validate the election.
Only a handful of independent election observers were present and few foreign journalists were given permission to enter the country.
However, reporters in Tashkent witnessed several clear cases of fraud, including people openly casting multiple ballots and voting several times.
In the run-up to voting, Karimov told foreign diplomats he wanted "a free society."
However, he suppresses even flickers of opposition.
Karimov's rule has also been marred by accusations of torture levelled by a number of UN officials and by evidence produced by a British ambassador that two prisoners had been boiled to death.
In the climate of fear few dare talk openly about opposition to Karimov.
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