ELECTION CODE TESTED FOR THE SECOND TIME

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The Republic of Uzbekistan held its presidential elections on October 24, 2021 based on the principle of periodic elections in line with the Constitution and international election standards.

First of all, this is another practical confirmation of New Uzbekistan's commitment to the universally recognized principles of international democratic elections and socio-political and economic stability in the country.

The presidential elections were held in a high spirit, in full compliance with national electoral legislation following international criteria and standards and democratic principles such as justice, openness, transparency and liberty.

Elections are a clear proof of bold democratic reforms being implemented steadily and quickly in our country, of the realization and effectiveness of tasks set in the Action Strategy in the five priority areas of the development of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021.

The Central Election Commission and lower-level election bodies, in cooperation with relevant state and public organizations, have carried out extensive work to prepare for the Presidential election and conduct it at a high democratic level.

In a highly competitive environment between five political parties and their candidates, the recent elections have become a shining example of strengthening freedom and democracy in Uzbekistan.

The continuous development and improvement of electoral legislation and practice is a process inherent to a free democratic state. It is important to consider the requirements of international election standards and the optimal recommendations of election observation missions of international organizations.

In 2019, five laws, as well as about thirty legal acts, ceased to have effect in connection with the Adoption of the Election Code, which is in line with the comprehensive, thorough, and most advanced democratic principles and where human rights, including the suffrage of citizens, have found their bright expression. Dozens of new norms and rules not present in the national election rules of Uzbekistan took place in the Election Code, and some existing procedures were abolished.

It should be noted that the recommendations of the OSCE ODIHR in the development and adoption of the draft Election Code and relevant conclusions and opinions were obtained from authoritative international organizations such as the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.

The Election Code has been successfully tested in a very important process, such as the Presidential election. Earlier, in 2019, elections to the country's parliament and local councils were held for the first time under the Code.

Significant changes have been made in the national electoral system of New Uzbekistan, which is boldly and steadily moving towards the establishment of a democratic state governed by the rule of law, aimed at ensuring the broad and full suffrage of citizens.

In this process, the practice and experience of previous presidential elections in Uzbekistan and recommendations and suggestions given in the final reports of international observer missions that participated in them were studied and analyzed in detail. As a result, two laws were passed in 2021. In the development of these draft laws, special attention was paid to three sources - national electoral legislation and practice, the experience of more than twenty foreign countries in conducting elections, as well as international norms and standards related to elections.

According to the amendments and additions to the electoral legislation in 2021, the rights and guarantees of voters, political parties, election commissions, the media and observers have been significantly expanded. The electoral process management system has been further improved by introducing modern information technologies.  

To effectively implement the innovations in the electoral legislation, a number of decisions of the Central Election Commission on the organization and conduct of elections of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan were adopted. New regulations and guidelines were approved.

As a result of the adoption of this legislation, the national electoral legislation has been further improved based on universally recognized international electoral standards. As a result:

Firstly, through the consistent implementation of the updated electoral legislation, raising the electoral culture of election commissions and the population, further improving the system of work of political parties with their electorate, and increasing the political activity of parties were achieved;

Secondly, the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on October 24, 2021, was organized and held at a high level following the updated national electoral legislation, which fully meets the generally accepted international electoral standards;

Thirdly, a more open and transparent electoral process increased the chances of improving Uzbekistan's performance in the World Democracy Index.

The introduction of new national election standards has created equal and broad opportunities for political parties and presidential candidates during the election campaign, especially during the pre-election canvassing. October 24 was an important factor in citizens' active and free voting in the elections. In the presidential election, more than 16 million or 80.4% of voters freely expressed their will and voted - a unique event in the history of elections in countries worldwide in the difficult conditions caused by the pandemic.

At the same time, this voter turnout was proof that this year's move to change the election day from a snowy and cold December to a moderate October following the amendments to the national electoral legislation was correct. The same can be said about other new national standards in electoral law.

The presidential election was observed and covered by about 1,000 international observers from about twenty international organizations, fifty foreign countries, and 1,672 local and foreign media representatives.

Such large-scale participation of international observers and the media is a record figure in the history of all elections in Uzbekistan!

In addition, about 64.5 thousand representatives from five political parties and citizens' self-government bodies who participated directly observed the elections.

The Final Report of the ODIHR Election Observation Mission (EOM) on the Presidential Elections of the Republic of Uzbekistan, held on October 24, 2021, highlighted the positive aspects of the election campaign and the measures taken in Uzbekistan to further improve the electoral process following OSCE recommendations.

It should be noted that Uzbekistan's cooperation with the ODIHR in the election process is strengthening. The Office's Mission has been participating in Uzbekistan's presidential and parliamentary elections since 1999. It, in turn, contributes to the fair, honest and transparent conduct of elections in Uzbekistan based on the commitments made by our country in the field of elections, universally recognized principles and best practices.

As a result of practical cooperation, special attention is paid to the wider and fuller provision of citizens' suffrage through further democratization of the national electoral system, harmonization of electoral legislation and practice with generally accepted democratic election standards.

It is evidenced by many indicators like the codification of the laws and regulations in the field of elections into a single Election Code and the introduction of information and communication technologies in the electoral process.

Thus, the assessment of all elections by the ODIHR Election Observation Mission and other international and foreign experts, noting the success of the previous election campaigns and the organization and conduct of elections in our country, showed a significant effect on the formation and development of the national democratic electoral system in Uzbekistan.

It was especially evident in the 2021 election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

For the first time, an influential long-term delegation of the OSCE, consisting of 365 observers from 44 countries, took part in the observation of the presidential election in Uzbekistan. 

The ODIHR Election Observation Mission has been monitoring the Presidential Elections since September 15 2021. The mission included into its main group 17 people, 28 long-term observers who have been watching all regions of the country since September 24, as well as 204 short-term observers from 28 OSCE participating States who monitored the voting and counting process on election day.

On election day, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and, for the first time, Delegations from the European Parliament joined and formed International Election Observation Mission (IEOM).

For the first time, the election of the President of Uzbekistan was observed by a delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, consisting of 100 parliamentarians from 27 countries, as well as a delegation comprised of the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Margareta Sederfelt and the Secretary-General Roberto Montella. Observers consisting of 13 members of the European Parliament also observed the presidential election.

These facts testify that the OSCE / ODIHR recognizes and actively supports the path of democratic reforms in Uzbekistan, which has been consistently implemented in recent years within the framework of the Action Strategy.

In the final report, it has been acknowledged that the elections were held through a process of reform strategy in the social and economic, political and legal spheres under the motto "New Uzbekistan".

In recent years, Uzbekistan has made significant progress in the preparation and conduct of elections and achieved radical reforms in electoral legislation by implementing the proposed recommendations from OSCE / ODIHR.

They expressed satisfaction with the strengthening of guarantees for the smooth conduct of the election campaign, praised the measures taken to exclude the use of administrative resources, and noted the strengthening of guarantees of the legal protection of suffrage.

In the final report, the work of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the preparation and conduct of the presidential election was highly praised: "The preparations for the elections were carried out with great efficiency and great organization," the report said. It was noted that despite the problems with COVID-19, the CEC had organized its activities at a high organizational level, quality, and within the deadlines set by law.

The open and transparent conduct of the election campaign was highly rated. For the first time, all meetings of the Central Election Commission were open to the general public, broadcast online, the decisions of the Central Election Commission were immediately published on the Commission's website, and live video conferences with district election commissions were held regularly.

Measures to create favorable conditions for people with disabilities were also praised in the elections. "According to the law, all polling stations must be open to voters with disabilities, and the CEC has installed ramps and voting booths adapted for wheelchairs; special stencils and magnifying glasses for Braille ballot papers were provided in all polling stations to expand further and facilitate voting opportunities for people with various disabilities".

It is noted that persons with disabilities' enjoyment of election campaign activities was widely provided. In such meetings, sign language was used, including through video communication.

"The Central Election Commission was able to organize a comprehensive and inclusive information campaign long before election day, also in the languages of ethnic minorities. A number of new rules have been introduced to expand facilities created for people with disabilities," the Final Report said.

The mass media monitoring conducted by ODIHR EOM revealed that the campaign for active voting in the elections was conducted in nine languages. All election materials, including election legislation and CEC resolutions, were published in Uzbek, Russian, and Karakalpak and distributed online in Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, and Turkmen languages. The voting process on election day was peaceful and orderly. The CEC periodically informed the public about the interim results of how citizens voted throughout the day.

10,761 polling stations were set up in the country to hold elections. The IEOM monitored voting in 1,267 polling stations. Some negative aspects of the voting process were noted only in 139 (11%) polling stations visited by mission members.

It should be noted that during the presidential election campaign, the Press Centre of the Central Election Commission and its regional branches, the International Media Centre in Tashkent, created a wide media space for all participants in the election process. Hundreds of press conferences, briefings, interviews, seminars, and meetings were held. All this depends on the openness and transparency of the electoral process, and the work of electoral bodies in ensuring objectivity became important.

More than 76,000 foreign and domestic media materials were announced during the election campaign.

The missions of international organizations, foreign observers, and hundreds of foreign journalists, who have been following the presidential election process with great interest, have acknowledged the significant changes that have taken place in a short period in our country's electoral legislation and practice.

According to them, modern and sustainable national election standards and systems have been created to conduct free democratic elections according to the principle of impartiality in New Uzbekistan.

Consistent, systematic and wide-ranging implementation of the tasks set out in the main event program adopted by the Central Election Commission on April 14, 2021, the preparation and conduct of elections of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan served in conducting the election based on the election law, in particular, the Election Code at a high organizational level.

To strengthen the knowledge and skills of candidates for members of precinct election commissions, more than 142,000 election organizers improved their skills in the training workshops organized based on multi-stage "cascade" technology.

Organization of training of operators of the electoral process management information system for about 33,000 members (operators) of election commissions allowed to provide the "one voter - one vote" principle.

In a real competitive environment Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a candidate from the Movement of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen - Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, won the election with a majority of 80.12% of the vote and was elected President of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Election Code was successfully tested for the second time.

The future strategy of New Uzbekistan, recognized as one of the most peaceful, stable and fast-growing democracies in the world, and supported by the people, is clear: to further increase the volume of investments, create new jobs, constantly improve the welfare of the population, strengthen ties of friendship and cooperation with all countries.

 

Zayniddin NIZAMXODJAYEV,

 Republic of Uzbekistan

Chairman of the Central Election Commission

 

THE CURRENT ELECTORAL SYSTEM OF UZBEKISTAN – THE EFFECT OF A PRAGMATIC APPROACH

 

On October 24, 2021, an important political event in the life of our country was held - the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The elections were held in full compliance with the national electoral legislation, following the universally recognized principles and international standards, which enshrine the constitutional and legal foundations for free and fair elections conducted based on universal, equal, and direct suffrage by secret ballot openly and transparently.

It, first of all, is another convincing confirmation of the commitment of New Uzbekistan to the universally recognized principles of international democratic elections and socio-political and economic stability in our country.

 

ANALYSIS OF POPULAR PARTICIPATION IN ELECTIONS

Once again, the presidential elections demonstrated the steady growth of political thinking, public activity, and our people's electoral culture.

All citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan who have an active electoral right on polling day are subject to inclusion in the voters' list.

The Unified Electronic List of Voters (UELV) is a state information resource that includes citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan who have reached the age of 18 (including on the day of the election), have a permanent or temporary residence permit, and are not held in prisons under a court sentence for committed, serious and especially serious crimes.

The voters' home visits were carried out to form the UELV in February-May 2021. During the work carried out, a total of 21.9 million citizens and about 7 million real estate objects were studied. 1.49 million apartments were digitized out of almost 7 million not digitized in the cadastre database during the inventory process. Unnamed streets are assigned a name and entered into the register.

From September 17 to October 19, 2021, through the Electoral Management Information System (EMIS), the data on voters distributed from district election commissions to precinct election commissions were clarified.

As a result of updating the voters' list, 19,859,127 citizens were included in the voters' lists at polling stations established in the territory of Uzbekistan, and 299,780 citizens - in diplomatic missions and institutions in the domains of foreign States.

Work to amend the voter lists following the requirements of the Electoral Code was completed 5 days before the election, that is, on October 19, 2021.

The total number of voters on the voter list was 20,158,907.

Careful preparation of 10,761 polling stations, including 37 polling stations formed in 54 foreign states, following the procedure established by law, played an important role in conducting the voting process following international electoral standards.

Thanks to a wide range of campaigning activities carried out by election commissions, as well as the favourable conditions and opportunities created, 421,618 people participated in the early voting in the elections of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, including 301,094 voters in the territory of Uzbekistan and 120,524 voters in foreign countries.

On October 24, 2021, precinct election commissions established in the country and at diplomatic and other missions of the Republic of Uzbekistan abroad for the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan hourly entered information about voters who participated in the elections to the EMIS. These data were summarized and published in Uzbek, Russian, and English on a large screen in the CEC Press Centre and on social media pages.

A unique event in the history of elections in countries of the world in the current difficult situation caused by the pandemic is that more than 16 million or 80.4 percent of voters voted freely in the presidential elections.

According to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, a candidate who receives more than 50 percent of voters who participated in voting is considered President.

The Movement of Entrepreneurs and Business People candidate – Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev won a confident victory, having received the largest number of votes - 80.12 percent and was elected President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

 

INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS ON THE ELECTORAL LEGISLATION OF UZBEKISTAN

The international observation of the elections involved representatives of various countries and institutions: the organizers of the elections, parliamentarians and the expert community.

The CEC was accredited with a total of 971 international observers, including 631 international observers from 18  international organizations, such as the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Bureau for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Commonwealth of the Independent States and the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic Council, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and others, as well as 340 international observers from 45 foreign countries. 

Leaders and coordinators of international observer missions praised the preparation and conduct of the elections.

In particular, summing up the results of the international observation of the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, according to the general opinion of the participants of the press conferences, the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan was held within the framework of national legislation and international standards of electoral rights, in compliance with democratic norms.

According to the head of the CIS election mission, the CIS Executive Secretary, S. Lebedev, the elections were held in full compliance with the requirements of the Constitution and the Electoral Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, were competitive, free, open and transparent, and met the universally recognized principles of democratic elections. A distinctive feature of the elections in Uzbekistan remains the absence of black PR and a sleaze war, which advantageously distinguishes the electoral process in the country from the elections in Western countries.

The head of the SCO observer mission, Deputy Secretary-General of the SCO Y. Ashimov, stressed that the election of the President of Uzbekistan met the requirements of national legislation and international obligations and was free, legitimate, and democratic. Violations questioning the vote results at these elections aren't revealed. He also noted the improvement of the electoral process through the introduction of modern communication and information technologies.

According to the head of the Observer Mission of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking states (CCTS, Turkic Council), O. Kojaman, the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan was held openly, transparently, and following the national legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as international standards, norms, and requirements. Congratulating Uzbekistan and the Uzbek people on the successful elections, he stressed that the election results would contribute to the further development of the country, well-being, and the establishment of stronger ties in the Turkic world.

During the joint press conference of the missions of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Bureau for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Parliament, the presidential elections were held against the backdrop of the ongoing implementation of the strategy of reforms in the social, economic and political spheres initiated by the President of Uzbekistan under the motto "New Uzbekistan".

The same conclusion is drawn in the Final Report of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission dated April 22, 2022.

It is also recognized that in recent years Uzbekistan has made significant progress in the preparation and conduct of elections and in the fundamental reform of electoral legislation, which has contributed to the implementation of the recommendations of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Observers from the expert community also confirm this. In particular, the international observer - Director of the Academic Library of the University of Latvia Venta Kocere, noted: "As an international observer, I am also pleased that the electoral legislation of the Republic has been improved. Now it meets the highest international standards in this area."

 

INCORPORATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS ON ELECTORAL LEGISLATION INTO THE NATIONAL LEGISLATION

Progressive development and improvement of electoral legislation and practice is a process characteristic of a free democratic state.

In our country, targeted work is carried out to effectively use the necessary opportunities to implement the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR on the results of monitoring the elections held in the country. It, in turn, contributes to the democratic development of Uzbekistan by introducing relevant international standards and best practices in the field of elections.

In his message to the Oliy Majlis on December 29, 2020, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, dwelling on the upcoming presidential elections in 2021, instructed the Central Election Commission to pay special attention to organizing the upcoming elections at a high level based on national legislation and generally recognized international democratic principles.

In his address, the head of our state indicated the need to continue work on implementing acceptable recommendations of international observers in the last elections into the national legislation and practice.

In this regard, the CEC, together with the ministries, departments, and organizations involved, has taken some organizational and practical measures to analyze the recommendations of the Final Report of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission (EOM) at the 2019 parliamentary elections, to summarize them on time, as well as to apply them in the electoral legislation and practice of Uzbekistan, as well as to ensure the implementation of acceptable recommendations in national legislation.

As a result, two important laws have been enacted since the beginning of 2021 to bring national electoral legislation closer to international electoral standards, implement the Mission's Final Report's recommendations, and improve electoral legislation.

First of all, on 08.02.2021, the law "On amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan in connection with the improvement of electoral legislation" was adopted.

Following this law, amendments and additions were made to:

§     The Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan;

§     Constitutional Law "On the results of the referendum and the basic principles of the organization of state power"; 

§     Law "On the Financing of Political Parties";

§     Electoral code.

In particular, now:

Firstly, the presidential elections, elections to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis and Jokargy Kenes Karakalpakstan, representative bodies of state power of regions, districts, and cities are held respectively in the year of the expiration of the constitutional term of their powers – on the first Sunday of the third decade of October (earlier – December);

Secondly, the funds allocated to finance the participation of political parties in the elections should be spent on:

• campaigning;
• organization of work of proxies of candidates and other assets involved in campaigning;
• general party events for the election campaign.

Also, now the political party has to provide the interim and final reports on the state funds allocated to it to finance elections participation. Reports of the political party are published on its official website and in print;

Thirdly, electoral precincts for the election of the President, deputies of the Legislative Chamber and deputies of oblast and Tashkent city Kengashi are formed by district electoral commissions on the proposal of khokimiyats of districts and towns, and for the election of deputies of district and city Kengashes – by district and city electoral commissions.

Also, citizens in foreign countries can get acquainted with the data concerning them from the list of voters through the official websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, diplomatic and other missions of Uzbekistan.

fourthly, the deadline for the cessation of amendments to the voter lists has been increased from 3 to 5 days before the election.

The law also made other amendments and additions to the Electoral Code.

The next law is the Law "On amendments and additions to the Election Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan", signed on May 31, 2021. It should be noted that the adoption of this law was also based on the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission to improve our country's electoral system and legislation.

The law provides amendments to 11 articles of the Election Code:

1) the jurisdiction of higher election commissions is excluded from consideration of appeals against actions and decisions of lower election commissions, and their consideration is established only by the court;

2) it is provided that the district election commission for the election of the President of Uzbekistan consists of a chairperson, a deputy chairperson, a secretary, and 11-18 members of the commission;

3) the rule on the indication of the position (type of occupation) of a candidate, his/her place of work in the ballot paper is excluded;

4) it provides that citizens may prove their identity by signing an identification card, not only with a passport, in support of a political party or an electoral candidate;

5) it has been established that public events such as meetings with voters do not require prior permission and at least three days before they are held, the khokimiyats of the district (city) must be notified in writing of the place and time of their holding, while permission to hold such mass events is not required.

At the same time, it is worth noting the adoption of a number of legislative acts directly related to implementing the recommendations contained in the Final Report.

Among them, the adoption of:

the Law "On the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" on October 15, 2020, which entered into force in January 2021;

On December 25, 2020, the Law "On amendments and additions to the Criminal Code, Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Code of Administrative Responsibility of the Republic of Uzbekistan", which amended the Criminal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and the Code of Administrative Responsibility, providing for the liberalization of criminal punishment for insults and defamation (abolition of penalty in the form of deprivation of liberty);

Law On Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on June 7, 2021 (New York, December 13, 2006).

The development by the CEC of many legal acts (including the new version) on the preparation and conduct of presidential elections was also important for the proper implementation of the ODIHR Ministry of Internal Affairs recommendations. These Regulations, Instructions, and Concepts consider the implementation of a number of recommendations of the Final Report.

Thus, of the 32 recommendations of the Final Report on the results of observation of the 2019 parliamentary elections, 21 recommendations (3 - partially) were fully accepted, and 8 are under consideration.

 

Chairman

of the Central Election Commission

of Uzbekistan

Z.M. Nizamkhodzhaev