People of Uzbekistan head to the polls for general elections

In Uzbekistan, where there are nearly 20 million registered voters, citizens will cast their ballots from 08:00 to 20:00 local time to determine members of the Legislative Chamber and provincial and district municipal councils in the first general election held since the adoption of the new constitution.

In these elections, which are being held for the first time under a mixed majoritarian and proportional representation system, a total of 875 candidates from the Milliy Tiklanish (National Revival) Democratic Party, the People's Democratic Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party, and the Ecological Party are competing for 150 seats.

In the election, 500 candidates are competing for 75 parliamentary seats to be elected under the proportional representation system, while 375 candidates are vying for 75 parliamentary seats to be determined under the majoritarian system across 75 districts.

10,717 POLLING STATIONS ESTABLISHED

Nearly 20 million registered voters across the country will be able to cast their votes at 10,717 polling stations established in 75 electoral districts. For Uzbek citizens abroad, 56 polling stations have been set up at Uzbekistan's diplomatic missions in 39 foreign countries, including Turkey.

The election will be monitored by nearly 1,000 international observers from more than 50 countries and organizations, including the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Organization of Turkic States.

Unofficial preliminary results will be announced tomorrow.

THE PARTY WITH THE MOST VOTES IN THE ELECTIONS WILL DETERMINE THE PRIME MINISTER CANDIDATE

Governed by a presidential system, Uzbekistan's parliament consists of the Legislative Chamber and the Senate. The Legislative Chamber, which is the lower house of the country's parliament and operates on a permanent basis, consists of 150 deputies, while the Senate, the upper house which meets every three months, consists of 65 members.

Those elected to provincial councils will select the senators who will represent their regions in the Senate during meetings to be held next month. In the Senate, each of the 14 regions across the country will be represented by 4 senators, while 9 senators will be appointed by the president.

According to the new regulation, individuals who are not party members can also be included in the list of parliamentary candidates.

The party that receives the most votes in the elections will earn the right to determine the prime ministerial candidate and present them to the head of state for approval.

According to the election law that entered into force for the first time in these elections in the country, Legislative Chamber elections are held according to a mixed majoritarian and proportional representation system.

While the majoritarian election system, in which candidates who receive the majority of votes in an electoral district are considered elected, had been applied in Uzbekistan until now, all candidates were also required to represent political parties in the country.

The law on the transition to the "majoritarian and proportional representation" system, adopted by the Legislative Chamber on October 31, 2023, was approved by the Senate on November 24, 2023, and signed into law by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in December 2023.

In the last parliamentary elections held in Uzbekistan in December 2019, the Liberal Democratic Party won 53 seats, the Milliy Tiklanish (National Revival) Democratic Party 36, the Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party 24, the People's Democratic Party 22, and the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan 15 seats in the 150-seat Legislative Chamber.