On 24 November 2016 the mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights published an Interim Report following the observation of the Presidential Election in Uzbekistan.
This will be the seventh election observed by the OSCE/ODIHR, and the first full-scale election observation mission with short-term observation of election day proceedings.
The Report covers the period from 2 – 20 November 2016, and it stresses that the upcoming election represents an important juncture for Uzbekistan after 25 years of independence under the First President Islam Karimov.
The Mission OSCE noted the improvements in the Presidential Election Law (PEL), the main legal act for the election. A number of previous OSCE/ODIHR recommendations have been reflected in the legal framework.
Since the announcement of the election, the CEC has adopted and posted on its website 55 decisions related to the registration of candidates, accreditation of observers and preparations for the elections. It launched an intensive voter awareness campaign to increase voter turnout, as well as televised spots against proxy voting.
The CEC registered four presidential candidates proposed by four political parties, within the legal deadline.
According to the report, all four parties opt for a similar array of campaign materials and following uniform outreach strategies. All candidates are holding meetings with voters across the country. Campaign discourse is dominated by a demand for “continuity and stability during the unprecedented transition of power”.
Some shortcoming were also mentioned in the Report, in particular the absence of centralized voter register. The CEC announced earlier that works had begun to establish such a register and for the next elections such it will be put in place.
