TEHRAN (Iran News) –  While the Republic of Uzbekistan is getting ready for holding the presidential elections on October 24, the country’s ambassador in Tehran Mr. Bakhodir B. Abdullaev in a press conference at the embassy briefed the reports about the upcoming political event in Uzbekistan.

Abdullaev said everyone knows that on October 24, 2021, an important political event will take place in the life of the country and the people of Uzbekistan – the election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

He added that over the past five years, major changes have taken place in the national electoral legislation. According to leading international experts, in the new Uzbekistan, the gradual improvement of electoral legislation and the practice of holding elections have reached a qualitatively new level.

It should be noted that the upcoming elections will be held for the first time according to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, adopted in 2019. It embodies all the systems and mechanisms for citizens to exercise their rights to participate in the socio-political life of the country by voting.

The holding of free and fair, open and transparent elections in compliance with the principle of periodicity is evidence of the country’s choice of the path of democratic development, the ambassador added.

He said that since Uzbek population is young, it is estimated over 20m people are eligible to vote, reiterating that everybody is free to vote to whom he likes.

“The frequency and compulsory nature of elections are reflected in the legislation of Uzbekistan. For example, in accordance with Article 90 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the President of the country is elected by the citizens of the Republic on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot for a period of five years,” he noted.

In accordance with the above requirements, elections of the President of the Republic and the representative bodies of state power must be held every five years.

The Central Election Commission adopted a resolution “on determining the date for holding elections of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan and announcing the start of the election campaign” dated July 23, 2021.

Currently, the Central Election Commission, as well as election commissions of all levels, have organized work on the preparation and conduct of presidential elections on the basis of the principles of legality, independence, honesty, openness, transparency and publicity, Mr. Abdullaev said.

For these purposes, the work of the Press Center of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan and its regional branches has been organized.

On September 15, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) opened its mission to observe the presidential elections in Uzbekistan. This is the 400th mission since the establishment of the ODIHR 30 years ago and the 9th mission of the election observation bureau in Uzbekistan.

The Mission to Uzbekistan consists of 11 experts from the core team based in Tashkent and 28 long-term observers, who began their work in all regions of the country from 24 September. The ODIHR also plans to organize an invitation to Uzbekistan for 250 short-term observers from the OSCE participating States, who will arrive a few days before the elections.

During the observation, the mission will assess the compliance of the elections with Uzbekistan’s OSCE commitments, other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as national legislation.

Observers will monitor key aspects of the elections, including voter registration, campaigning, election commissions and relevant government agencies. The mission experts will analyze the electoral legislation and its implementation, as well as issues of resolving disputes related to elections.

Observers from about 50 countries and dozens of international organizations such as the CIS, SCO, ECO, APA and many others are expected to take part in the upcoming elections.

These elections are a very important political event for the people of Uzbekistan, which provides answers to key questions about the future development of the country.

In preparation for the presidential elections, it is planned to create 54 polling stations in 38 states at the embassies and consular offices of Uzbekistan, as well as 316 additional mobile polling stations in 128 cities, including in 11 states where there are no diplomatic missions of Uzbekistan.

At present, a polling station No. 53 has also been created at the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Tehran, which is ready to receive all citizens of Uzbekistan living or temporarily staying in the Islamic Republic of Iran on the day of presidential elections, he added.

The Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Tehran is carrying out all the necessary preparatory work for holding these elections at a high level, the ambassador said.

The upcoming presidential elections in Uzbekistan will also receive extensive coverage in Iran’s local media. For these purposes, the Central Election Commission invited representatives of the leading Iranian media to Uzbekistan, who will directly participate and cover this important political event in the life of our country.

It should be noted that to date, all political parties in Uzbekistan have nominated candidates for the presidency of the country, as well as presented their election program.

Current President Shavkat Mirziyoyev from the Liberal Domestic Party of Uzbekistan will compete with Leader of the Milliy Tiklanish Democratic Party Alisher Kadirov, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Central Council of the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan Mr. Narzullo Oblomurodov, Deputy Head of the People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (PDPU) Maksuda Vorisova and Head of the Social Democratic Party “Adolat” Bakhrom Abdukhalimov.

Elections based on real competition between candidates are a new phenomenon in the internal political life of this country.

Over the past 5 years, under the leadership of President Mirziyoyev, large-scale transformations have been carried out in the republic in all areas of public life.

President Mirziyoyev’s initiatives laid the foundation for the formation of a new model of state and social construction in Uzbekistan, the cornerstone of which is the principles of democracy and the rule of law, the Uzbek concluded.