As is known, the political life of society represents a rather complex phenomenon, in which electoral culture is one of the most important components.
From an objective point of view, the core of electoral culture is the electoral process, which entails ensuring and implementing electoral legislation. In turn, from a subjective perspective, electoral culture is seen as the understanding by the subject of the necessity, first of all, of their own participation in the electoral process.
For a democratic state, the level and quality of electoral culture are extremely important. In this regard, in politics during the conduct of political campaigns, uniform techniques and methods of activity are used, which are commonly referred to as political technologies. In turn, so-called electoral technologies are a variety of political technologies. They include methods and techniques used in organizing election campaigns aimed at achieving the pre-election goals of individual candidates or political parties.
Over the past 5-6 years, significant work has been carried out in the electoral system of Uzbekistan as part of the formation of a democratic society. Under the leadership of the head of state, consistent measures have been taken to strengthen the legal foundations of free and fair elections, which are an integral attribute of a democratic rule of law state.
It should be noted that democratic reforms in Uzbekistan can be considered in the context of three waves of electoral legislation development: 1st wave: Codification of electoral legislation, which involves the process of transition from individual electoral laws to the Electoral Code. In 2019, Uzbekistan adopted the Electoral Code, replacing five previously existing disparate electoral laws; 2nd wave: Democratization of electoral legislation and the country's system, which contributed to ensuring the independence of the activities of election commissions at all levels; 3rd wave: Formation of legal conditions for fair elections.
It is necessary to note that a vivid example of the implementation of reforms in the field of electoral activities, including in the process of presidential elections, was the inter-party televised debates held on October 19 of this year. The aim of the debates was to present to voters and representatives of foreign media different approaches to solving acute issues in the political, social, and economic spheres.
From a historical point of view, the very first presidential debates took place in the general elections in the United States in 1960, between U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy, the Democratic Party candidate, and Vice President Richard Nixon, the Republican Party candidate. The debates were broadcast live on television and radio and attracted more than 66 million viewers out of a population of 179 million, making them one of the most watched programs in American television history. It should be noted that this phenomenon laid the foundation for a new era, where media coverage of debates became an important component of a successful political campaign.
Debates, as an element of political technologies, provide an opportunity to express the positions and ideas of the population through decision-makers and are also the result of interaction between different types of participants: politicians, parties, governments, as well as groups of citizens (i.e., protesters). In other words, the practice of conducting political debates allows voters to be informed about the political programs of presidential candidates. It should be emphasized that the debates held on October 19 of this year for the first time provided candidates from political parties with the opportunity to publicly, openly, and practically without restrictions discuss issues of our country's foreign policy and demonstrated various methods of solving political tasks related to the development of our Republic of Uzbekistan.
The most relevant tasks in terms of political technologies at the present stage are the organization of meetings and hearings between party representatives and voters at the local level. It is also necessary in the future to increase public visibility through various social programs and PR campaigns. In the future, it is desirable for political parties to identify themselves with specific social groups and interests, presenting themselves, for example, as a "party of entrepreneurs," "party of provinces,"
