Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan's only president since independence from Soviet rule, swept to victory with 88.1 per cent of the vote after a weekend election criticised as undemocratic by Western observers.

Karimov, who has tolerated no dissent since he came to power in 1989, has been under fire from the West since 2005 when troops shot at protesters in the town of Andizhan, killing hundreds of people according to witnesses.