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Uzbeks voting in no-choice poll
Voters in Uzbekistan are going to the polls to choose a new parliament. The government has hailed the vote as a democratic breakthrough, but opposition candidates are not allowed to run. "Hail! Hail! All hail, uh, Whats-his-name! Y'know - the only one on the ballot!" Security is tight after an unprecedented year of anti-government protests, including bazaar riots, and even suicide bomb attacks. Sounds like he still might not get 100% of the vote. But, hey, it's who counts, not who votes, eh? Carter taught us that. Five parties are fielding candidates but all of them support President Islam Karimov, the powerful leader who has run Uzbekistan for almost 20 years. "But we're different parties! Really. Why are you smiling?" Some independents did try to stand but officials rejected their applications on technical grounds. "You're not me - so you can't run." Almost no Uzbeks we asked in the street could name the parties or tell the difference between them. "They all look the same to me, man." Very many said that they would not turn out to vote because they did not see the point. ... Proving that since they do not see the point, they get the point. Posted by: .com 2004-12-26 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=52170 |