It has been exactly one year since the elections to the parliament and local representative bodies were held in our country based on the new legislation.

It has been exactly one year since the elections to the parliament and local representative bodies were held in our country based on the new legislation.

In a democratic state and society, the will of the people is recognized as the primary source and is followed without deviation.

Article 7 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan states that "The people are the sole source of state power", and Article 32 states that "Citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan have the right to participate in the management of society and state affairs directly and through their representatives."

These rights find their practical expression in elections. The special chapter devoted to election issues in the Constitution served as an important legal basis for the formation of the national election legislation of our country. At the same time, this constitutional provision is an important factor in the regular improvement of the electoral law in independent Uzbekistan.

From this point of view, if we pay attention to the changes made in the electoral legislation and practice in recent years, the high results of the systematically implemented reforms in the field of national elections can be seen. In the next six years, two parliamentary and two presidential elections were held in Uzbekistan.

The extensive practical and legal experience gained during these elections, as well as the recommendations made by national and international observers, played an important role in improving the electoral legislation.

In 2014, amendments were made to Article 117 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Central Election Commission was given a constitutional status and the guarantees of its formation and implementation of its independent activities were established.

In this case, the fact that the authority of the members of the Central Election Commission is not limited by a certain period and is formed by the local representative bodies and the parliamentary chambers is one of the important guarantees of the independence of their activities.

In 2015, it was established by law that polling stations should be opened in places of temporary detention in order to ensure the participation in the election of persons under investigation and not yet found guilty by a court verdict, based on the presumption of innocence.

Also, based on international election standards, the number of signatures supporting presidential candidates has been drastically reduced. In particular, the required number of signatures was reduced from five percent of the total number of voters to one percent.

In 2019, at the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the adoption of a unified Election Code, which includes five existing laws and dozens of legal documents, created an important legal basis for raising the electoral practice to a new level of quality.

With the adoption of the Electoral Code, first of all, through the systematization of electoral law norms, i.e. through codification, similar norms were eliminated, this legislative network became unified.

The draft of the Code was subjected to the international legal expertise of the Venice Commission and the appropriate conclusion was obtained. A number of international election standards, as well as the recommendations of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), have been incorporated into the code. As a result, the Election Code was enriched with a number of innovations.

Persons who have committed crimes of low social risk and not so serious are allowed to participate in the election, the quota of fifteen seats allocated to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis for the Ecological Movement has been canceled, and all the deputies of the lower chamber to be directly elected by citizens, non-governmental non-profit organization - representatives from citizens' self-governing bodies participate in elections as observers, it is confirmed that voters have the right to put signatures supporting one or more political parties or presidential candidates among such important changes.

Reforms in electoral law and practice were widely recognized not only by the participants of the electoral process, but also by the international community. This was also evident in the elections to representative bodies of state power held in 2019.

In particular, the report of the full-fledged mission of the OSCE Bureau, which observed the parliamentary elections held in 2019 under the slogan "New Uzbekistan - new elections", recognized a number of positive changes.

In particular, "this year's elections were held in an environment of tolerance based on improved legislation and independent opinion. Freedom of speech and the press has expanded significantly. Debates were held, most of which were broadcast live in the media. The newly adopted Electoral Code is national

made it possible to bring election legislation closer to OSCE rules, other international commitments and standards accepted by Uzbekistan. The elections showed the need to continue the ongoing reforms," the mission's report states.

In the comments of the OSCE Bureau on the observation of elections in previous years, there were a number of recommendations to improve the national electoral law and practice, to further expand the choice for voters, to encourage the environment of initiative, to eliminate existing shortcomings, and to improve work with the media. .

Undoubtedly, the updated election legislation in 2019 and the ever-strengthening and expanding atmosphere of openness and transparency in our country allowed the Central Election Commission to organize last year's parliamentary elections at a new, high-quality stage.

What can be seen in such systematic changes that are being carried out steadily?

The creation of a single electronic list of voters to ensure the principle of "one voter - one vote" was a completely new practice in the national election system of Uzbekistan. Information on more than 20.5 million citizens of voting age was included in this list and it was used in the election process.

More conditions and opportunities have been created for political parties and deputy candidates to hold pre-election meetings than ever before. 26 TV debates they held were broadcast live. All this served for the first time in the modern history of Uzbekistan to hold elections in an environment of real competition.

The opportunity to vote for all our compatriots living abroad is one of these important changes. 112,411 compatriots voted using their constitutional right in 55 polling stations established in 38 countries. In the previous elections, only citizens registered in consular offices of our country abroad could vote.

During the preparation for the elections, about 180,000 members of election commissions were trained in practical seminars and trainings.

It is one of the most important innovations in the national election system of Uzbekistan that people who have committed crimes of low social risk and not very serious have the honor to vote for the first time in the history of our country. In the last election, 4308 such persons exercised their right to vote.

A mechanism has been created to quickly react to the reports of mass media, social networks and ordinary citizens about violations of the electoral law, and to take appropriate legal measures in necessary cases.

It should be noted separately that this is a clear confirmation that the socio-political environment has changed in New Uzbekistan, and the principles of democracy, openness and transparency have begun to be realized in practice. The whole world is watching and benevolently watching such reforms, which require great wisdom, philanthropy, patriotism, great loyalty to the ideals of modern democracy and strong political will.

The adoption and successful implementation of the Election Code was a big step towards further strengthening and improvement of our national election legislation, formed in the years of independence, and our nearly 30-year experience in conducting democratic elections.

For the first time, the Central Election Commission has developed analytical information on the parliamentary elections held in 2019, and along with the progress achieved in the organization of the elections, the shortcomings and problems that have arisen, as well as the measures to be determined, have been expressed in it.

Further improvement of our national election legislation, alignment with universally recognized international standards is a continuous and regular process.

The recommendations of international organizations on the improvement of the electoral system are taken into account and implemented in accordance with the systematic reforms implemented in our country, of course, based on the national traditions and specific cultural values of our people.

The most important thing is that every effort and opportunity will be used to firmly establish democracy, which is steadily strengthening in our New Uzbekistan, and to further improve the conditions that serve to expand the electoral rights of citizens.

Mahmoud ISTAMOV,

Republic of Uzbekistan

Central Election Commission

Deputy Chairman

"New Uzbekistan" newspaper

December 22, 2020, No. 248