The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Uzbekistan will, for the first time in the country's history, implement an electronic voting system during the upcoming parliamentary and local government elections as an experiment. This process will be active at certain polling stations in Tashkent, as specified by the CEC press service.
The decision to test electronic voting on election day is enshrined in a resolution of the election commission. According to the document, at polling stations where the appropriate equipment will be installed, citizens will have the opportunity to vote in the traditional way by filling out a paper ballot, or to use the electronic voting form.
It is planned to use 37 electronic voting systems. According to officials, similar equipment has been used in countries such as the USA, Germany, UK, Italy, Brazil, Singapore, and others. To date, over 6.5 billion people have participated in various elections using this technology.
«It should be noted that the electronic voting procedure serves to expedite voting and determine election results, ensure the legality of processes, and optimize the workload of election commissions,» the CEC stated.
In addition, the election commission intends to organize online broadcasts from polling stations. Work on the technical solution for this task has already begun.
The CEC notes an increase in the number of applications through the E-Saylov information system for the accreditation of observers from abroad. Commission staff are providing foreign experts with documents allowing them to work as observers in the Uzbekistan elections.
ℹ️ The implementation of electronic voting was discussed last year when journalists complained to authorities about falsification when using paper ballots. At that time, the Minister of Justice of the republic, Akbar Tashkulov, announced plans to digitize the process, but noted that this requires preparation of infrastructure: forming a registry, collecting voters' fingerprints and other personal data. According to the official, in any case, electronic voting cannot be called perfect, if only because it violates the principle of anonymity.
