Muhammad Solih, who challenged President Islam Karimov in the 1991
presidential polls, told RFE/RL's Uzbek Service that the
candidate "doesn't have to be me... The decision will be made by the
party's central council. We may suggest someone else."
Erk is banned and Solih fled Uzbekistan in 1993 after a government
crackdown on the opposition.
Solih cannot run for president under current Uzbek legislation, which
demands that candidates must have lived inside the country for 10
consecutive years prior to the election.
He was also tried in absentia on charges of extremism and sentenced to
a lengthy prison term in 1999.