Thursday, 27 August 2009
International seminar "Legal aspects of ensuring openness, publicity and transparency in the organization and holding elections: world experience, norms and standards" was held in Bukhara on 25-26 August.
The meeting discussed legislative bases of implementing democratic principles of openness, publicity and transparency during election campaign, role and experience of participation of national civil society institutions in carrying out democratic elections, features of use of modern electoral technologies.
The seminar was organized in the framework of a cycle of events dated to the preparation for upcoming elections in Oliy Majlis [parliament] of the Republic of Uzbekistan, regional, district and city Kengashs (Councils) the people's deputies to be held in the end of December this year.
The international forum was organized jointly by the Central Election Committee of Uzbekistan, Institute for Civil Society Studies, National Human Rights Centre, Uzbek Agency for Communication and Informatization, National Association of Electronic Mass Media, Public Fund for Support and Development of Independent Print Media and News Agencies, Office of the OSCE Projects Coordinator in Uzbekistan.
More than 20 experts and analysts from the countries of Central Asia, Great Britain, France, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Japan, Korea, India, Pakistan, and some international organizations participated in the two-day seminar.
The participants paid attention that all necessary conditions providing according to the advanced democratic practice an original openness, publicity and transparency in the organization and conducting of elections have been created in Uzbekistan as a result of system and consecutive democratization and liberalization of electoral norms, and legislation on civil society institutions.
The experts noted that all necessary organizational and legal, material conditions for free, active participation of citizens, political parties in election processes, reliable guarantees of full realization of their suffrages have been created in Uzbekistan.
The complete independent system of election commissions, led by independently operating body – the Central Election Committee, providing preparation and holding elections to representative authority bodies in the atmosphere of real freedom, publicity and honesty is formed.
Electoral bodies on an impartial basis promote parties and candidates to express freely their views and estimations, provisions of electoral programs through the assistance in the organization of pre-election campaigns, financing of agitations and guarantee the possibility of equal access to the media.
The experts have common opinion that changes in the electoral legislation of Uzbekistan adopted on the initiative of President Islam Karimov have lifted at quality new level the process of liberalization of electoral system in the country. The election legislation of Uzbekistan completely corresponds to the international standards in the sphere of organization and carrying out of democratic elections.
The role and capacities of participation in elections of the civil society institutions, first of all political parties, in the processes of democratic updating and society modernization have been expanded. The number of deputy places in the Legislative Chamber [lower house of the Uzbek parliament] has increased from 120 to 150.
Participants of the international conference noted that promotion of candidates in Uzbekistan will be carried out by political parties only. Proceeding from the vast importance of issues of preservation of the environment, struggle for improvement of ecological conditions, health of people, i.e. problems in which decision all social classes are interested, irrespective of their political orientations, 15 deputy places in the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan are given to the deputies selected from the Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan.
The institute of authorized representative of political party which has the right to participate in calculation of voices on polling districts, in check of correctness of drawing up of subscription lists, has been entered into the electoral legislation. The possible number of authorized representatives of candidates increased from 5 to 10. The institute of observers from political parties and many other things have been provided.
Thus, Uzbekistan has created all necessary conditions to political parties and representatives of public organizations, local and foreign observers, mass media for the realization of the rights by them and duties in election campaign.
System measures on maintenance of equal rights to candidates, political parties in use of mass media, carrying out of meetings with voters are realized. Work on carrying out actions of pre-election campaign, maintenance of guarantees of activity of candidates will be organized in strict conformity with the law.
The experts have especially noted that all these measures will serve to carrying out of forthcoming parliamentary elections of the country and local representative authority bodies at high democratic level, open and public.
According to participants of the seminar, it is promoted also by the Concept accepted by the Central Election Committee on preparation and conducting elections in Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan, regional, district and city Councils of people's deputies. The concept defines main principles, problems, priority directions, basic stages and actions for preparation and conducting elections.
Central Election Committee, other bodies responsible for preparation and holding of elections to representative authority bodies, will take consecutive measures on ensuring the transparency and publicity during all stages of election campaign.
On the basis of system approach and introduction of effective mechanism of interaction of subjects of electoral process unconditional maintenance of principles of openness, publicity and transparency on forthcoming elections in the government representative bodies is provided, with active participation of mass media as major tool according to stages of pre-election campaign, and other civil society institutions.
Attention of the seminar participants was also focused on the modern normative-legal base providing complete infrastructural and free development by mass media, formation of competitive environment in information sphere and guaranteeing freedom of expression of opinion, reception and distribution of information.
The seminar decided that among essential problems is the necessity of further increase of the role of political parties in the organization and carrying out of pre-election campaign in the spirit of constructability and conditions of inter-party competition and healthy competition, complex coverage in the media of pre-election agitation of the basic subjects of election campaign.
The main thing, as it was noted during exchange of opinions, is that the Uzbek model of election system realized today has been thought out carefully and deeply; it is based on the international standards and the best practices of democratic states of the world and completely reflects traditional values and mentality of our people.
This, in turn, promotes carrying out of forthcoming elections in the system of representative democracy and conditions of more and more increasing political activity of political parties, healthy inter-party competition, development and strengthening of real multi-party system in the country, increase of the role of political parties in activity and accepted decisions of parliament of the country and local representative authority bodies, expansion of the role and capacity of participation in the elections of civil society institutions.
