OSCE: December 2014 parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan organized competently
TASHKENT. Feb 25 (Interfax) - The parliamentary elections held in Uzbekistan in December 2014 were organized competently, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in a report published on the organization's website.
The Uzbek Central Election Commission (CEC) took active measures to increase the level of transparency in its work and to inform the public about the elections, the report says.
"The Central Election Commission (CEC) managed the technical preparations for the elections competently and met all legal deadlines," the report says.
The OSCE/ODIHR monitors said amendments to the electoral legal framework made by Uzbekistan took into account some previous recommendations from the organization and "introduced more detailed regulations with regard to election campaign activities and voting procedures."
The OSCE/ODIHR mission of monitors praised the active participation of women and members of national minorities in the elections, pointing out, in particular, that the 535 candidates registered by the CEC included 170 women (31.8 %) and a number of representatives of national minorities.
At the same time, the final report also suggests some recommendations to eliminate shortcomings recorded in the electoral process by the next elections.
The OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission led by Ambassador Daan Everts monitored the elections to the Legislative (lower) Chamber (Oliy Majlis) of the Uzbek parliament and to local councils conducted on December 21, 2014. The mission was comprised of 12 experts based in Tashkent and eight long-term observers deployed throughout the country.
It was reported earlier that the elections to the Legislative Chamber of the Uzbek parliament were conducted on December 21, 2014 and on January 4, 2015. Based on their results, 150 parliamentarians have been elected, including 52 representing the Liberal Democratic Party, 36 the Democratic Party of Uzbekistan Milliy Tiklanish (National Renaissance), 27 the People's-Democratic Party, 20 the Social-Democratic Party Adolat (Justice), and 15 the Environmental Movement.
Uzbekistan has had a bicameral parliament since 2005.
