Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Dec.22
By Demir Azizov- Trend:
The observers' mission from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has assessed the elections to the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan as transparent and democratic.
"The elections were held in accordance with the Uzbek law and the country's international obligations," head of SCO mission, Deputy Secretary General of the organization Makhmadsharif Khakdodov said at a briefing on Dec.22.
He said the elections held in Uzbekistan were transparent and democratic.
Khakdodov said the SCO mission monitored the preparations and the process of holding the elections from Dec.19 to Dec.22. The mission carried out its activities in compliance with the requirements to the international observers.
The mission reviewed the pre-election program of the political parties participating in the elections - the Liberal Democratic Party, People's Democratic Party, the Democratic Party Milly Tiklanish (National Revival), and the Social Democratic Party Adolat (Justice).
In order to objectively assess the process of holding the elections, the mission got acquainted with the activities of some precinct election commissions.
On the voting day, the mission took part in 73 polling stations in Tashkent city and Tashkent province.
Alongside with the SCO mission, observers from political parties, election agents of the candidates for MPs, as well as international observers visited the polling stations. The mission didn't receive any complaints from those persons during the voting process.
The mission members had an opportunity to visit various polling stations at their own discretion, freely observe the election process and get the needed information about the members of the commissions of polling stations.
The mission representatives also took part in the process of counting the ballots and drawing up relevant protocols on the voting results at the polling stations.
"No case of violation of the Uzbek law on the elections to Oily Majlis was revealed by the mission during these procedures," Khakdodov added.
The elections to the Legislative Chamber of Oily Majlis (lower house of Uzbek parliament) were held on Dec.21.
Over 18 million citizens, or over 88 percent of the total number of the voters took part in the elections.
Uzbek voters cast ballots for the representatives of four political parties - the Liberal Democratic Party, People's Democratic Party, the Democratic Party Milly Tiklanish (National Revival), and the Social Democratic Party Adolat (Justice).
The voting was held in all 9,035 polling stations, including in 44 polling stations at Uzbekistan's representative offices in foreign countries.
The election process was observed by nearly 300 representatives from 35 countries, observers from the international organizations - SCO, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), CIS Executive Committee, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and others.
Additionally, CEC issued mandates to more than 70,000 observers and authorized representatives of political parties participating in the election. Over 340 representatives of the national and foreign media took part in covering the elections.
The preliminary results of the elections will be announced on Dec.22.
Uzbekistan's bicameral parliament was created in 2005. Its legislative chamber permanently employs 150 MPs from four political parties and the Uzbek Ecological Movement. They were elected in Dec. 2009 for a five-year period.
The parliament's upper house, known as the Senate, employs 100 MPs elected in equal numbers, i.e. six MPs from the Karakalpakstan Republic, regions and the city of Tashkent.
Aside from that, the Uzbek president appoints 16 members of the Senate from among the most distinguished citizens.