Uzbekistan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) says preliminary results from the country’s presidential election will be announced today at 4 p.m. local time.

CEC Chairman Mirza-Ulugbek Abdusalomov made the announcement shortly after polls closed on December 4 in a vote that will determine the next country’s president after Islam Karimov, who ruled Uzbekistan for a quarter-century until his death three months ago.

According to Abdusalomov, the official turnout was 87.83 percent, with more than 17.9 million out of some 20 million eligible voters taking part.

Acting President Shavkat Mirziyaev, who had been the country’s prime minister since 2003, is widely expected to win a five-year term in the election.

The 59-year-old Mirziyaev was made acting president six days after Karimov’s death was announced.

Mirziyaev has said that he intends to largely follow the political course of Karimov.

There are three other candidates on the ballot: Khatamjon Ketmanov of the People’s Democratic Party, Sarvar Otamuratov of the Milliy Tiklanish (National Revival) Democratic Party, and Nariman Umarov of the Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party.

Citing the deputy leader of the Liberal-Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, Ms. Mukhlisakhan Akromova, RIA Novosti news agency reports that Mirziyayev’s supporters expect that he will win no less than 80 percent of the vote.  

Recall, some experts consider that Uzbekistan's new leader, Shavkat Mirziyaev, is making a difference in regional politics in Central Asia.  In less than one month, Mirziyaev has reportedly moved to improve ties with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and in so doing has sparked hopes for a new era of regional cooperation.

Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) deployed observers in Uzbekistan to monitor the election process but has not yet commented on the fairness of the polling.

None of the six previous post-Soviet elections observed in Uzbekistan by ODHIR monitors has been deemed democratic and fair.

The United States, Russia and China all watch developments in Uzbekistan closely and are concerned about its stability because it is a major exporter of natural gas and cotton.  At least two million Uzbeks work abroad, mostly in Russia, according to Reuters.