ODIHR OSCE NEEDS ASSESSMENT MISSION COMPLETES ITS WORK

Arrived at the invitation of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Needs Assessment Mission of OSCE ODIHR headed by the Head of Election Department of ODIHR OSCE Alexander Shlyk concluded its work.

For three days, experts of the mission held meetings in the course of studying the state of national electoral legislation and the process of preparation for the elections in Uzbekistan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Election Commission, the Supreme Court, the Legislative Chamber and Senate of Oliy Majlis, Ministry of Justice, the National Broadcasting Company, the National Association of electronic media, the Uzbek agency for press and information, office of the Commissioner of the Oliy Majlis for human Rights. Representatives of the ODIHR visited the National Centre for Human Rights, the Independent Institute for monitoring the formation of civil society, and also met with representatives of political parties.

It was stressed during the discussions that the national electoral legislation is improved consistently on the basis of accumulated experience in preparation and holding of elections, generally recognized international principles and standards, in-depth study of the experience of foreign countries.

In the last five years, the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan jointly with the OSCE Project Coordinator in Uzbekistan, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and Konrad Adenauer Foundation and other authoritative international organizations in Uzbekistan organized about 10 major international conferences and "round tables" with the participation of experts from Europe, Asia, America and CIS, the World Association of electoral bodies, the OSCE ODIHR, CIS Executive Committee.

In order to exchange experiences, study international practice and prepare for democratic elections around 20 working visits of specialists of Uzbekistan were organized to such countries as France, Spain, Poland, Denmark, United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, Russia, India and others. CEC members, deputies of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis in the missions participated as international observers for the presidential and parliamentary elections in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Republic of Korea, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, the UK and other countries.

The Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan signed a memorandum on cooperation with the World Association of electoral bodies, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Korea in the period from 2010 to 2016, which contributed to the exchange of experience and information. Joint project with the OSCE "Support to improve electoral practices of the Republic of Uzbekistan" made a significant contribution to the study of the practice of developed democratic states in the election.

Within the project CEC experts got familiar with the experience of the OSCE member-countries in the field of openness and transparency of the electoral process, democratization of the electoral practices, raising the level of qualification of election officials, subjects of the electoral process and electoral culture of voters. This, according to experts, will certainly enrich the experience of Uzbekistan and become the basis for further improvement of the electoral legislation.

The Constitution, laws on elections secure reliable justice guarantee and fairness of the electoral process, the protection of the electoral rights of citizens and ensuring their free will. Legal culture of the population, civic engagement and involvement in all transformations, in particular, in social and political processes taking place in the country increased considerably as a result of measures implemented during the years of independence. Public control over ensuring citizens/’ voting rights, compliance with the law during the preparation and conduct of elections is being exercised.

In particular, the ODIHR experts were informed about the course of monitoring of the electoral process carried out by experts of the Independent Institute for monitoring the formation of civil society. Thus, studies show a high level of public confidence, and above all the voters in the electoral system, confidence in the success of the voting on December 4, 2016. The factors that determine their views include strengthening of the role and place of the Central Election Commission in organizing the elections, giving it constitutional status and establishing the main principles of its activity - independence, legality, collegiality, transparency and fairness. Democratic order of formation of election commissions, primarily the precinct election commissions of eminent members of the public was also formed. Their composition is discussed and proposed by the representative bodies of local authorities - councils of people/’s deputies. It is seen by citizens as a guarantor of the independence and objectivity of their work.

Guarantees of free activities of the CEC and the responsibility for interference in its activities are enshrined in the Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan on administrative responsibility. The legislation established that the decisions of the Central Election Commission within its powers are binding on the district and precinct election commissions and referendum commissions, public authorities, political parties and other non-profit organizations, enterprises, institutions and organizations. Openness and transparency of the activities of election commissions, in particular, the creation of conditions for observers from political parties of Uzbekistan to be present at polling stations, as well as international observers are an important factor in the activity of the Uzbek people in elections. There was also an emphasis on the importance of the adoption of the program of activities to further improve the legal culture of voters, holding of training seminars for the participants of the electoral process, an extensive explanation work is being conducted. Strengthening the role of political parties in the country/’s modernization and democratization processes serves as a significant boost for citizen participation in the political life of the country.

ODIHR experts at the meetings were able to get acquainted with the activities of state and public institutions in preparation for the elections and ask questions. They highly appreciated the level of organization of meetings and willingness to provide information. As the Head of Election Department of ODIHR OSCE Alexander Shlyk stressed based on the results of the meetings the mission will prepare a conclusion which will involve such criteria as the conditions for an effective, reliable and professional observation of elections, political pluralism, transparency, and public confidence in the electoral process as well as implementation of the recommendations of the ODIHR based on observation of previous elections.

The observer mission of the OSCE ODIHR took part in monitoring the elections in the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2015. Recommendations on the basis of their work are taken into account to further work on improvement of the electoral legislation and practice.

To date, such authoritative international organizations as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the World Association of electoral bodies and the Executive Committee of the CIS also expressed their willingness to take part in monitoring the elections of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

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