In a few more days, the 30th anniversary of the state independence of our dear Motherland, the Republic of Uzbekistan, will be widely celebrated. "Let's live freely and prosperously in the new Uzbekistan!" Our people, who are actively preparing on the basis of the noble idea, are welcoming the Independence Day with great success in all fields.

Meanwhile, another big political event - the day of the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan - October 24 is getting closer and closer.

Responsible circuit

It should be noted that all work on the preparation and holding of the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan is carried out systematically in accordance with the calendar plan for the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, strictly following the Election Code. is being implemented.

As noted, the presidential election is a product of high political thinking - the realization of advanced democratic ideas embodied in the strategy of action on the five priority directions of the development of our country, and the actual confirmation of the people's confidence in the high development of Uzbekistan. will be a bright expression.

At the next extended meeting of the Central Election Commission held on August 14 this year in the form of a video conference, authorized representatives of political parties operating in our country, as well as the chairman, deputy chairman, secretaries and members and people's deputies recommended as candidates to the district election commissions Heads of secretariats of local councils also participated.

At the meeting of our commission held on August 9, the issue of creating constituencies for holding the presidential election of the Republic of Uzbekistan was considered and a decision was made to create fourteen constituencies. was done. The necessary information in this regard, including the decision, was published on the official website of the Central Election Commission and in central publications, in particular, in the newspapers "Khalk sozi" and "Narodnoye slovo".

After that, the candidates for the membership of the district election commissions were discussed at the meetings of the Dzhokorg Council of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, people's deputies of the regions and Tashkent City Councils, and were recommended for approval by the Central Election Commission.

In accordance with the Election Code, the district election commission for conducting the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan by the Central Election Commission at least seventy days before the election, commission chairman, deputy chairman, secretary and eight to eighteen other members of the commission. It is composed of

According to the electoral law, a person who has reached the age of twenty-one, has a secondary or higher education, and also, as a rule, has work experience in preparing for and conducting an election, a reputation among the population Citizens who have gained attention can be members of the district election commission.

At the moment, members of other election commissions and political parties, governors of regions, districts and cities, officials of prosecutor's offices, courts, close relatives and trusted representatives of candidates, as well as persons directly subordinate to candidates can be members of the election commission. it is determined that it is not.

At the meeting of the Central Election Commission, the candidates recommended for the personal composition of the fourteen district election commissions for holding the presidential election of the Republic of Uzbekistan were reviewed and approved.

Analyst opinion

When it comes to the members of the approved county election commissions, I think it is appropriate to focus on some numbers: the total number of county election commission members is 266, of which 104 (39 percent ) women. 150 members (56 percent) participated in the previous elections.

Members: pedagogues - 90 (34%), economists - 41 (15%), lawyers - 32 (12%), engineers - 26 (10%), doctors - 21 (8%), journalists - 11 people (4 percent).

There are more representatives of the younger generation in the district election commissions holding this year's presidential election than ever before: 23 young men and women under the age of 31 (9 percent), and 77 under the age of 41 ( 28 percent).

This is another practical expression of the constant attention and care shown in our country to protect the rights and interests of young people, to create the necessary conditions for them to show their potential.

Experts pay special attention to another number. In 2019, socially active citizens with disabilities made up 3.5 percent of the district election commissions that held elections to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, and this number reached five percent in the presidential election this year.

According to analysts, it was primarily the disability of citizens of our country

it is related to the fact that the legal and organizational foundations and effective mechanisms for ensuring the electoral rights of individuals are fully formed.

Ratification of the international convention on the rights of the disabled by the Republic of Uzbekistan and the implementation of the Law "On the rights of persons with disabilities" on January 15 of this year are clear examples of this.

These important legal documents are of great importance in creating additional guarantees for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in our country, further improving the legislation, strengthening the social protection of persons with disabilities, and providing them with equal and broad opportunities in the construction of society and the state.

The cooperation agreement signed between the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Society of the Disabled of Uzbekistan, the Society of the Blind of Uzbekistan, the Society of the Deaf of Uzbekistan and the Association of the Disabled of Uzbekistan also includes preparation for the presidential election and its implementation. serves to widely ensure the electoral rights of citizens with limited opportunities during the transfer process.

I would like to emphasize that there are representatives of almost all nationalities residing in our country in the district election commissions holding the presidential election.

According to the regulation "On the procedure of operation of the district election commissions conducting the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan" approved by the Central Election Commission on April 14 of this year, state bodies, enterprises, institutions, organizations prepare for the district election commissions election. must provide free of charge the buildings, meeting halls, rooms and equipment necessary for conducting the meeting.

District election commissions are provided by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regions and Tashkent city governments with a properly equipped building consisting of at least eight rooms, as well as transport, means of communication and the possibility of connecting to a high-speed Internet network. Regional departments of the Press Center of the Central Election Commission will be established under the district election commissions. All this serves to ensure that district election commissions carry out their work in full compliance with the requirements of the national election legislation, the principle of openness, transparency and transparency.

Great honor and great confidence

Institutions of civil society, in particular, self-government bodies, non-governmental non-profit organizations, prominent representatives of disabled people's organizations, well-known journalists, scientists, and creative intellectuals are widely involved in the district election commissions.

It is a great honor and great confidence to be a member of the district election commission for the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

At the same time, it is clear that at the heart of this trust lies a great responsibility. After all, every member of the election commissions should deeply feel that this year's presidential election will be held for the first time on the basis of the Election Code, under new conditions, with full adherence to democratic principles. This requires not only deep knowledge, hard work, but also dedication and loyalty from each election organizer.

We believe that leaders and members of election commissions at all levels, who are recognized as reputable representatives of the public, will work based on such high requirements and that all of us will have a bright face in front of the voters and our people.

Collecting signatures. What is the significance of this?

During these days, activists and supporters of political parties began to collect signatures of voters. What is the significance of this process?

It is known that according to the Election Code, only political parties have the right to nominate candidates for the Presidency of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The public has good news that the political parties operating in our country have started preparations to participate in the presidential election, which will be held on October 24 of this year.

At the session of the Central Election Commission, the appeals of political parties to allow participation in the presidential election of the Republic of Uzbekistan were considered.

Representatives of the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan, the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, the Movement of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen - the Liberal-Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, the Democratic Party of Uzbekistan "National Revival" and the Social-Democratic Party of Uzbekistan "Adolat" were present at the meeting. representatives were given forms of signature sheets of the specified sample.

The Election Code pays special attention to this issue and includes a separate article called "Procedure for collecting signatures".

The Central Election Commission approved on April 14 of this year "Collection of signatures in support of the candidate nominated for the Presidency of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the signature sheets were filled out correctly"

According to the regulation "On the procedure for verifying the election", the political party allowed to participate in the election must support the candidate nominated for the presidency of the Republic of Uzbekistan and collect the signatures of at least one percent of the total number of voters of the Republic of Uzbekistan. . This means that each political party must collect the signatures of at least 210,000 voters.

They will be allowed to participate in the election only after the Central Election Commission checks the signatures collected by the political parties and makes sure of their authenticity.

In one administrative-territorial structure (Republic of Karakalpakstan, region, city of Tashkent) a political party can collect a maximum of eight percent of the total number of signatures.

As stated in Article 38 of the Election Code, a political party for the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan has the right to collect voters' signatures only after its authorized representative receives a registration certificate. Signatures collected before this date will not be counted.

Voters have the right to sign in support of one or more political parties or candidates for the Presidency of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In doing so, the voter shall include his/her surname, first name, patronymic, year of birth (if eighteen years of age, plus the day and month of birth), residential address, passport or identification ID card series, and shows the serial number as well as the date of signature. This information is entered manually. Information about the voter who puts his signature on the signature sheet may be entered by the person collecting signatures at the voter's request.

Voters' signatures in support of each political party or candidate for the Presidency of the Republic of Uzbekistan should be selected in the same amount from each administrative-territorial structure in equal proportion, the signature sheets should be filled in correctly, in the prescribed order and must be submitted to the Central Election Commission within the term.

The collection of signatures of voters is carried out at work, service, study, place of residence, at pre-election events, as well as in other places where campaigning and collection of signatures are not prohibited by law. Any form of coercion and extortion of voters by the person collecting signatures shall be the cause of legal liability.

It is necessary to note that the rule expressed in the Electoral Code of our country that voters have the right to sign in support of one or more political parties is recognized by international organizations as a progressive democratic innovation that serves to further expand the choice of the electorate. is also specially recognized. In particular, the conclusion of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has the following lines: "Article 38 allows a voter to support several parties participating in the elections with his signature. This change in the electoral legislation of Uzbekistan will be an important factor in the development of diversity of opinions and inter-party competition.

The essence of sincere desire

At the meeting of the commission, the issue of accreditation of media representatives during the election campaign was also considered and a corresponding decision was made.

In order to create more favorable conditions for journalists to carry out their activities during the election period, their accreditation is being consistently continued.

At the previous meeting of our commission held on August 9, more than five hundred media representatives were accredited. Now their number has increased by almost two hundred people and the total has exceeded seven hundred people.

These numbers reflect the sincere desire of mass media to cover the processes related to the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan in a wide and impartial manner. I would like to emphasize that such aspiration is fully supported by the Central Election Commission.

The signing of memorandums of cooperation between the Central Election Commission and the country's leading mass media on coverage of the presidential election campaign of the Republic of Uzbekistan is of great importance in this process.

It is known that the Central Election Commission, the National Television and Radio Company of Uzbekistan, the National News Agency of Uzbekistan - UzA, the "Dunyo" news agency, the National Association of Electronic Mass Media, the "Zor TV" TV and Radio Company, the "UzReport" news agency bilateral memorandums were signed with the Republic of Uzbekistan on strengthening cooperation and clarifying the implementation and conduct of preparatory work.

Central Election Commission

among the partners in this direction, non-state mass media are increasing more and more. More than half of the applicants for accreditation belong to non-state and private mass media. About thirty representatives of "Kun.uz" internet publication alone were accredited. Five or six years ago, such tolerance was unimaginable.

Recently, as a result of polls conducted by the non-governmental public opinion research center "Ijtimoiy Fikr", it became known from which sources voters get news and information about the presidential election.

Research shows that the most demanding source of information is the state television of Uzbekistan. 68.9 percent of the survey participants receive information about the progress of election preparations mainly from television. In this regard, the Internet took the second place (33.5 percent). For 25 percent of respondents, non-state television channels are the main source of information.

Open communication

Specialized groups consisting of highly qualified journalists, lawyers, translators, experts and other specialists are working in the Press Center, which has started work intensively in the building of the Palace of Symposiums of the Central Election Commission in Tashkent. In the short time that has passed since the beginning of the election campaign, about thirty important events have been held here. Among them was the first open and face-to-face dialogue between the leaders of the Central Election Commission, leading election experts and scientists, which aroused great interest.

The reason why the journalists called it "first" and "open" is that the scope of the meeting was much wider, not limited to a specific topic, as in the usual briefings or press conferences. At the event, which was attended by dozens of bloggers, independent journalists, including foreign journalists, participants asked not only the processes related to the preparation and conduct of the presidential election of the Republic of Uzbekistan, but also the national election system.

Called "meeting without a tie", the one-hour conversation lasted more than three hours. At the event, which turned into a hot question-and-answer and debate, the existing problems and shortcomings were also frankly stated. Many practical suggestions were made.

It is proposed to organize seminars and trainings for the representatives of the mass media covering the election on the importance of the presidential election, its specific aspects, the national election legislation and the latest amendments and additions to it, and the essence of the international election standards. including

This proposal of journalists was supported by our commission. Yesterday at the Press Center, interesting trainings began for a group of employees of the National Television and Radio Company of Uzbekistan.

In short, such trainings aimed at helping journalists in covering election processes are regularly held. The project implemented in cooperation with the Central Election Commission and the United Nations Development Program is also focused on this issue. Within the framework of the project, a series of online seminar-trainings were organized on the topic of "Effective coverage of election processes in mass media" focusing on mass media representatives, especially regional journalists. To date, journalists from almost all regions have improved their knowledge in such trainings conducted by national and international trainers.

During the trainings conducted by international experts, journalists actively participated in discussions on the role of press services of election commissions during the election campaign, public relations, and the practice of applying advanced international experience.

Such efforts, which are being carried out steadily, are becoming more and more open and transparent in our country, and as a result of democratic principles, the political and legal awareness and culture of citizens are constantly rising, the confidence of our people, especially the youth, in the future, interest in election processes is increasing, and the feeling of involvement in the fate of the Motherland is increasing. It is a sign that it is getting stronger.

Ensuring the interests, rights and freedoms of the people is the most important priority of the state policy. Such large-scale and consistent work is carried out in the national election system of the country. serves to organize.

Zayniddin NIZOMKHOJAYEV,

Central Republic of Uzbekistan

Chairman of the election commission,

Hero of Uzbekistan.

Source: "Khalk Sozi" newspaper,

August 17, 2021.