Uzbekistan calls snap presidential election for July 9

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Uzbekistan’s leader has called a presidential election for this summer. The announcement on Monday came a week after a constitutional referendum extended the term from five years to seven. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is in his second term which is the maximum allowed by the constitution. But the referendum passage allows him to begin the count of terms anew and run for two more. That raises the possibility that the 65-year-old leader could stay in office until 2037. It wasn’t immediately clear who would compete in the July 9 presidential election. But Mirziyoyev would have almost no chance of losing. He has dominated Uzbek politics since taking over upon the death in 2016 of longtime leader Islam Karimov.