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  Uzbek election expected to extend Karimov's rule
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ContributorGerald Farinas 
Last EditedGerald Farinas  Dec 22, 2007 09:45pm
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MediaNews Service - Reuters
News DateSunday, December 23, 2007 03:00:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionUzbeks voted on Sunday in an election widely expected to extend President Islam Karimov's 18-year rule and condemned by the opposition and human rights activists as a Soviet-style one-man contest.

Mainly Muslim Uzbekistan, bordering Afghanistan and endowed with large gas and oil reserves, is at the heart of a geopolitical power struggle between the West and Russia, which sees Central Asia as its traditional sphere of interest.

International rights groups have accused Karimov, in power since 1989, of violating basic freedoms. The former Communist Party leader's government was criticized in the West in 2005 when troops opened fire on a protest in the town of Andizhan.

Public criticism of Karimov, who enjoys wide powers, is taboo in Uzbekistan, so voters were generally reluctant to talk about their views when polling began
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