Tashkent, Uzbekistan, March 30
By Demir Azizov - Trend:
The presidential election in Uzbekistan was held openly and in line with international standards, said Sergei Lebedev, the head of an observer mission from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Lebedev, who is also the chairman of the CIS executive committee and the CIS executive secretary, said at a press conference March 30 that the election was held in a calm atmosphere, in line with electoral law norms of Uzbekistan and with a high voter turnout.
He also underscored the high level of organization of the presidential election.
Lebedev said the transparency of both voting and counting of the votes was ensured at the polling stations.
Uzbekistan's Central Election Commission said over 91 percent of voters took part in the presidential election on March 29.
The CIS observer mission has from March 12, monitored the preparation for the election and the election itself at an invitation from the Uzbek CEC.
Some 72 observers from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the CIS executive committee were accredited as part of this mission.
The candidates from four Uzbek political parties were running for the presidency.
The Movement of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen - Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan nominated the current president, Islam Karimov as a presidential candidate. The People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan proposed the chairman of the party's central council, Hatamzhon Ketmonov to the president's post, and the Democratic Party Milly Tiklanish nominated a member of the party's faction in the parliament, Akmal Saidov.
The Social Democratic Party Adolat nominated the chairman of the party's executive committee, Narimon Umarov.
Over 300 representatives of 43 countries and mission of five international organizations, namely, OSCE ODIHR, CIS executive committee, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Association of World Election Bodies, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.