Google Doodle Celebrates Singapore's First Presidential Elections, Uzbekistan Independence Day

Google on Friday marked two events in the form of Google Doodles - Uzbekistan Independence Day and Singapore's first presidential elections in over a decade. Here's what the two doodles mean

Today’s annual Doodle celebrates Uzbekistan Independence Day, or Mustaqillik Kuni! Uzbekistan was declared independent from the USSR and became a sovereign nation in 1991.

Following the August Coup in Moscow, President Islam Karimov of the former Uzbek SSR declared Uzbekistan an independent country. The Supreme Soviet of Uzbekistan accepted this resolution, and the following day was recognised as a national holiday.

On Independence Day, citizens gather in each of Uzbekistan’s 12 regions and attend concerts, parades, firework shows, and speeches to honour the country’s progress and prosperity.

The biggest celebration occurs at Mustaqillik Maydoni (or Independence Square) in the capital city of Tashkent. And of course, no holiday celebrations would be complete without plov, a popular rice dish topped with mutton, onions, and grated carrots.

The September 1 Google Doodle celebrated Singapore's first presidential elections in over a decade. The citizens of Singapore started voting for a new president for the first time in over a decade.

The three-way polling contest is between Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Ng Kok Song and Tan Kin Lian. Shanmugaratnam is a senior minister who has spent more than two decades with the People’s Action Party while Song and Lian have criticised Shanmugaratnam's link with the PAP that’s ruled since independence in 1965.

Ng Kok Song is a former chief investment officer with the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), and Tan Kin Lian, is the former chief of the NTUC Income which is a state-owned union-based insurance group.

Eligible voters started casting their ballots at 8 am. More than 2.7 million Singaporeans are expected to vote and the polling stations will be open until 8 pm, after which counting of the votes will begin. The results would be declared by midnight.