Uzbekistan President Mirziyoyev Appoints His Daughter as Assistant

The presidential press service in Uzbekistan announced that President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has appointed his eldest daughter, Saida Mirziyoyeva, as his assistant today, Friday. This move sparked sarcastic reactions from some citizens, most of whom live abroad, while others on social media commented that her experience in communications could help her father promote the image of the Central Asian nation. Mirziyoyev assumed the presidency after the death of President Islam Karimov in 2016 and won a second seven-year term last month in elections that observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe noted were "well-prepared technically but lacked real competition." Uzbekistan does not have prominent opposition politicians or strong opposition groups, but Mirziyoyev has presented himself as a reformist, opening the country's economy to the outside world and easing the authoritarian policies of his predecessor.