Karimov wins Uzbek presidential election by landslide

Russian news agencies on Monday quoted the Uzbek Central Election Commission saying that Karimov had garnered a 90.4 percent of the vote as nearly 91 percent of the vote counted.

The 77-year-old Karimov has led the former Soviet republic since 1990 and ruthlessly quashed all opposition to his rule. His victory was largely seen as a foregone conclusion.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in a statement issued on Monday criticized the vote as lacking "genuine political alternatives." The OSCE also noted that Karimov was allowed to run despite the constitutional limit of two consecutive presidential terms.