IPA CIS Observers Monitor Voting in Parliamentary Elections in Uzbekistan

On 27 October, elections to the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan were held. Citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan, who are outside the country, voted in the parliamentary elections at 57 polling stations in 40 countries.

The IPA CIS International Observers monitored the polling stations located at diplomatic and consular offices in Baku, Astana, Almaty, Bishkek, Moscow, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg, Brussels, Rome, Dubai, Ankara and Paris.

The observer group included MPs from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, as well as experts from the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD).

On 25 October, before the elections, the IPA CIS IIMDD International Observers met with Chair of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of the Republic of Uzbekistan Zayniddin Nizamkhodjaev within the framework of monitoring the parliamentary elections.

Coordinator of the IPA CIS Observer Group, Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic on Budget, Economic and Fiscal Policy Talaybek Masabirov told about the composition of the group and how the work of observers will be organized during the short-term monitoring.

Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy thanked the head of the CEC for inviting a group from the Assembly to monitor the preparation and conduct of the election campaign.

Zayniddin Nizamkhodjaev shared data on early voting: 1 million 148 thousand 615 citizens took part in the elections ahead of schedule, including 132 thousand 667 abroad.

Also, on 25 October, the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan hosted a meeting of Speaker of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Tanzila Narbaeva with the IPA CIS International Observers.

Tanzila Narbayeva emphasized that "the current parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan are the first after the amendment of the country's Constitution, which expanded the powers of both chambers of the Oliy Majlis. Many powers of the President have been transferred to the legislators". She noted that the IPA CIS is distinguished by a systematic approach to the consideration of the widest range of issues.

On the same day, the IPA CIS Observer Group visited the Constitutional Court of Republic of Uzbekistan and talked to its Chair Mirza-Ulugbek Abdusalomov. The meeting discussed changes in the electoral legislation of the republic and directions of its improvement. Answering the observers' question about the transition to a mixed system of elections, the head of the court called optimal the decision to elect half of the deputies on party lists and half - in single-mandate districts.

On 26 October, the IPA CIS International Observers held a meeting with the leadership of the headquarters of the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, which has nominated candidates for the elections to the Legislative Chamber.

Chair of the Central Council of the People's Democratic Party Ulugbek Inoyatov noted that the main idea of the party - to create a social state - was reflected in the updated Constitution. The party's program includes the creation of the Social Protection Code, pension reform, ensuring gender equality, and expanding the rights of young people.

On 26 October, the IPA CIS Observer Group held a meeting in Tashkent. The working meeting was opened by Dmitriy Kobitskiy. He reminded that the IPA CIS Observers took part in monitoring the parliamentary elections at the invitation of Zayniddin Nizamkhodjaev.

Deputy Head of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat - Director of the IPA CIS IIMDD, Doctor of Law, Professor IvanMushket presented information on the main stages of long-term monitoring.

Also, on 26 October, Talaybek Masabirov and Dmitriy Kobitskiy met with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bobur Usmanov in Tashkent.

The IPA CIS International Observers held a meeting with the leadership of the "Adolat" Social Democratic Party of Uzbekistan in Tashkent. Chair of the Political Council of the party Robakhon Mahmudova told about the main directions of work in the pre-election period. The party has been working since 1995. Its peculiarity is the significant representation of employees of budgetary state institutions: teachers, doctors, lawyers and academics.

On 27 October, election of deputies to the Chamber of Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan took place. Talaybek Masabirov and Dmitriy Kobitskiy visited polling station No. 0577 in the building of the 25^th general education school in Tashkent.

The IPA CIS International Observers led by Talaybek Masabirov held a final meeting where they exchanged information about the observation. The observers noted people's awareness of the candidates and equal conditions for political competitors.

On 28 October, a press conference on the results of monitoring the parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan was held in Tashkent. The CIS Observer Mission concluded that the election was held in full compliance with the requirements of the Constitution and the Electoral Code of Uzbekistan. They were open, competitive, fair and in line with the universally recognized principles of democratic elections. The elections ensured the free expression of the will of the citizens of Uzbekistan. This conclusion was voiced by Head of the CIS Observer Mission Sergey Lebedev.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.