Naveed Ahmad Khan
Tashkent:The Central Election Commission held meetings attended by members of observer missions from international organizations and representatives of election management bodies from foreign states.
The Chairperson of the Commission, Zayniddin Nizamkhodjaev, met with the First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture of the Russian Federation, I. Umakhanov, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Independent States, S. Lebedev, Fuwad Thowfeek, Maldives Chief Elections Commissioner, the Head of the Observer Mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA), Osman Mesten, and the Chairman of the Election Commission of Malaysia, Ramlan bin Harun.
The main topic of the meetings was the issues relating to the preparation and conduct of elections to the country’s representative bodies of state power.
It was noted that one of the most important changes in the political life of our country in accordance with the new norms introduced into the Election Code is the holding of elections of deputies to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the basis of a mixed electoral system, i.e. a majoritarian and proportional representation electoral system. They also spoke about the introduction of the “E-Saylov” electronic information system, its advantages and opportunities in national electoral practice, improving the knowledge and skills of election participants at all levels in accordance with the concept of upgrading the qualifications of members of the Election Commission.
During the discussion, the international observers gave positive feedback and emphasized that the preparation of the elections was organized on the basis of democratic principles and in full compliance with international norms and standards, and that all necessary measures were taken to ensure free and secure voting of citizens.
The Secretary General of the CIS, S. Lebedev, stated: “The Central Election Commission has done a lot of high-level organizational and legal work to prepare and conduct the upcoming elections. Also important is the introduction of the interactive portal “E-Saylov”, through which political parties have the opportunity to cooperate with the Election Commissions in a timely manner to verify the eligibility of candidates in accordance with the law.
The first Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture of the Russian Federation, I. Umakhanov, noted: “We have seen that all events are reported in the media. The conditions created for women and people with disabilities deserve attention”.
It should be pointed out that representatives of observer missions and delegations of international organizations are observing the process of preparing and conducting the elections both long-term and as short-term observers.
During their visit to Uzbekistan, the missions visited a number of polling stations across the country, had time to familiarize themselves with the early voting process, and plan to make appropriate conclusions and recommendations based on the results of their observations.
