TEHRAN (Iran News) – The members of the Mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR) admit that the current electoral legislation fully complies with international standards.

As noted by the Office, in recent years, serious reforms of electoral legislation have been carried out, which have contributed to the implementation of a number of OSCE/ODIHR recommendations.

Speaking about the positive changes, the Mission notes, firstly, the strengthening of guarantees for the unimpeded conduct of the election campaign. For example, earlier mass events of political parties were coordinated with local authorities 30 days before the date of the event; now, according to the new legislation, it is enough to notify the authorities 3 days in advance.

Secondly, the introduction of a ban on the use by civil servants of their position during election campaigns in favor of or against any political party or candidate.

Third, the establishment of a requirement to ensure transparency in the use of financial resources for participation in elections. The parties are now obliged to submit to the CEC an interim report on Election Day and a final report on the results of the elections regarding the state funds allocated to them.

Fourth, strengthening guarantees of legal protection of voters. According to the new legislation, citizens with their complaints against decisions of election commissions can only go to court. Previously, they could apply to higher election commissions, which delayed the process of resolving disputes.

Fifth, the expansion of the electoral rights of citizens. Now citizens abroad can vote without consular registration.

As noted by authoritative international experts, work on the consistent improvement of the national electoral system has been raised to a qualitatively new level in Uzbekistan.

The practice of consistently improving the national electoral legislation and holding elections has risen to a new level. A vivid evidence of this is the Electoral Code of Uzbekistan adopted on June 25, 2019. The document embodied five laws and dozens of bylaws. There has been increased attention to the implementation of acceptable recommendations given by international observers in previous elections into electoral legislation and practice.

We remind you that for the first time, at the invitation of the Central Election Commission, the presidential elections are observed by the joint Mission of the OSCE/ODIHR, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament.

An OSCE/ODIHR mission, led by Irish diplomat Owen Murphy, has been observing the presidential elections since 15 September 2021. It includes a core group of 17, 28 long-term observers who have been monitoring regions of the country since 24 September, and 207 short-term observers from 26 OSCE participating States who monitored the process of expression of will and the counting of votes on election day. At the same time, the leadership of the OSCE/ODIHR, including the Director of the Bureau, Matteo Mecacci, took part in the observation of the presidential elections.

In addition, for the first time to observe the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, a delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, consisting of about 98 parliamentarians from 27 countries, as well as OSCE PA President Margareta Sederfelt and Secretary General Roberto Montella arrived.

Moreover, a 12-member group of observers from the European Parliament also joined the OSCE/ODIHR mission. In total, the joint observer mission includes 365 observers from 44 countries.

According to experts, the participation of such a representative OSCE delegation at the presidential elections in Uzbekistan for the first time testifies to the recognition and support of the organization for the course of democratic reforms carried out in the country.