Uzbekistan's LibDems retain lead in parliamentary election

Uzbekistan's Liberal Democratic Party has retained the biggest number of seats in the Central Asian nation's legislature so far, winning 43 seats out of 128 in Sunday's vote, the Central Election Commission said on Monday. The remaining 22 seats in the lower house of parliament will be contested in the second round of voting next month, commission chairman Mirza-Ulugbek Abdusalomov said.

Although Uzbek leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev has no party affiliation, it was the Liberal Democrats who nominated him for the presidency in the 2016 election. The Milliy Tiklanish (National Revival) party has won 35 seats, the Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party got 21, the People's Democratic Party 18 and the Green Ecological Party has won 11 seats so far.

All five parties back Mirziyoyev who has embarked on a campaign to reform the resource-rich Central Asian nation and open it up to foreign investment.