Mirza-Ulugbek Abdusalomov, the chairman of Uzbekistan's Central Election Committee, greets audiences before his briefing in Tashkent December 26, 2009. Uzbekistan will vote on Sunday in a parliamentary election certain to cement President Islam Karimov's grip on power in a Central Asian nation key to Western efforts to contain the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan.
REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov (UZBEKISTAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS)