Tashkent, Uzbekistan — An international conference was held in the city of Gulistan in offline and online modes on the topic: “Constitutional and legal foundations of presidential elections: experience of Uzbekistan and foreign countries.”
The event was organized by the Institute of State and Law of the Academy of Sciences, the National Center for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Center for Sustainable Development.
The conference was held with the support of international partners – the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank, the Swiss Agency for Progress and Cooperation (SDC).
During the conference, an overview of the constitutional and legal foundations of elections and trends in the development of electoral law was presented, an exchange of experience and opinions on the further improvement of electoral legislation and practice took place.
The forum was attended by representatives of the parliament, the judiciary, the Central Election Commission, leading research centers, political parties, civil institutions of the country, as well as representatives of such authoritative international organizations and structures as UNDP, IPU, OSCE / ODIHR, Agency for Progress and Cooperation Switzerland and representatives of the diplomatic corps in Tashkent.
International experts from UNDP, IPU, OSCE / ODIHR, the Swiss Agency for Progress and Cooperation, as well as representatives of the Institute for Development Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Center for Research on Russia and Central Asia, University of J. Nehru (India) participated in the event with their reports on international experience on organization of presidential elections.
The conference participants discussed issues such as the experience of Uzbekistan in the participation of political parties in elections, international electoral standards enshrined in universal and regional documents, the importance of civil society groups in increasing the inclusiveness and transparency of the electoral process, international election observation: principles and standards.
Of particular interest and discussion was the reports on the use of digital technologies in the electoral process and their legal regulation in the context of a pandemic.
As a result of the international conference, a final resolution was adopted, called the “Gulistan Document”.
It particularly noted that the upcoming presidential elections in Uzbekistan are one of the most important socio-political events of 2021 in the country, which is of key importance for the further sustainable development of both the republic itself and the entire Central Asian region as a whole – in the medium and long term.
The participants of the international forum also emphasized in the final document that “in recent years, within the framework of building a democratic, open to the outside world and competitive New Uzbekistan, a great deal of work has been carried out in the field of ensuring the constitutional rights of citizens to elect and be elected to representative bodies.”
“All reforms, within the framework of which the process of modernization of New Uzbekistan, as well as the political, economic, legal, social and spiritual renewal of society, the liberalization of electoral processes is carried out, are based on the results of a deep study of the experience of democratic countries and the richest historical and cultural heritage, traditions and values of our multinational people. According to certain parameters, the electoral legislation and electoral practice of Uzbekistan is ahead of similar processes in many democratic countries of the world,” noted the participants of the international conference in the adopted “Gulistan Document”.