Uzreport photo
In preparation for upcoming elections to the Uzbek legislative chamber Oliy Majlis (parliament), 55 polling stations have been opened at the republic’s diplomatic missions in 38 countries. This was announced in the course of talks between Deputy Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Ilhom Ne’matov and Cayetana De Zulueta Owtram, the head of the Election Assessment Mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE (OSCE ODIHR), according to a statement on the Uzbek Foreign Ministry’s official site.
According to information from the foreign ministry, more than 700 international observers from 50 countries will attend the elections in Uzbekistan. OSCE ODIHR itself plans to send around 300 individuals to all the regions of the country to talk with representatives of the five political parties taking part in the elections.
The talks noted the importance of the new electoral code of Uzbekistan, which has passed international examination and was drawn up on the basis of the recommendations of various international organisations. The law strengthened the position of political parties, abolished party-specific quotas and announced the creation of a Single Electronic Voter Register.
The first full mission of OSCE ODIHR was sent to Uzbekistan in 2016 to observe the presidential elections. Before this only limited missions had taken place: for the parliamentary elections of 2004 and 2014, and the presidential elections of 2007 and 2015. The 2009 parliamentary elections were observed by a Needs Assessment Mission. In 2014, OSCE ODIHR declined to send a full mission with reference to the absence of competitive elections in the republic.
Parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan will take place on 22 December, 2019. Contending for seats in the country’s parliament will be the “Milliy Tiklanish” (“National Revival”) Democratic Party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the “Adolat” (“Justice”) Social Democratic Party, and the Ecological Party.
