Uzbekistani parliamentary election, 2009
Encyclopedia
Parliamentary elections were held in Uzbekistan
on 27 December 2009 and 10 January 2010 to elect the 150 members of the Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan
, the lower house of the Oliy Majlis. Of these, 135 were directly elected from single member constituencies using the two-round system
, while 15 seats were reserved for the country's Ecological Movement
. Provincial
and district
councils were elected at the same time. Polls opened at 6 am Uzbekistan Time
(0100 UTC
) and closed at 8 pm UZT (1500 UTC).
The Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party
(O'zlidep) was reconfirmed as the largest single party in the Legislative Chamber, with 55 deputies. The other parties permitted to participate in the elections were the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan
(32 deputies), the Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party
(Milliy Tiklanish, 31 deputies) and the Justice Social Democratic Party
(Adolat, 19 deputies).
The elections were monitored by over 270 observers from 36 countries and representatives of four international missions. The election monitoring arm of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) did not send a full mission, saying none of its earlier recommendations had been implemented: an OSCE assessment mission observed voting at several polling places, but did not do comprehensive vote monitoring. Veronica Szente Goldston, Human Rights Watch
Advocacy Director for Europe and Central Asia, said the pre-election situation in Uzbekistan has been marked by intense repression by the government: "Human rights are violated everywhere around the country, there is no political competition, all the parties that are running for this election are supporting the government."
The election campaign consisted of 15- to 20-minute television programs each day for four days, as well as a second program called "Election – Mirror of Democracy". Transcripts from these shows were reprinted in newspapers, and billboards also appeared touting the upcoming choice that Uzbeks had to make. The four parties have publicly criticized each other, mainly over social policy, while praising President
Islam Karimov's achievements. Freedom House
, a US-based human rights organization, says the discussions appeared on television for the first time, which was a positive development, but that "We have some evidence from Uzbek activists that those debates were scripted. And even if not – these parties don't know themselves who they are, they have no ideology."
elected its 15 legislators at a congress, also held on 27 December, one from each territorial subdivision of Uzbekistan (Republic of Karakalpakstan, provinces
and Tashkent
city) plus one member from the Executive Committee of the Central Council of the Ecological Movement. Delegates to the congress were elected in equal numbers at the conferences of each of the territorial branches of the Ecological Movement.
On 24 December, all 16 million mobile phone users in Uzbekistan received an SMS informing them of the forthcoming elections. According to an Uzbek living in exile in the United States, "there are certain groups of the population which are under pressure and they are compelled to participate in the election – students, teachers, government employees."
For the second round on 10 January 2010, the electorate was 4,969,547. Of these, 16.3% (812,502 voters) were reported to have voted by 9 am UZT (0300 UTC), just three hours after polling stations had opened. The final turnout (based on provisional figures) when polls closed at 8 pm UZT (1500 UTC) was 79.7% (3,960,876 voters).
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
on 27 December 2009 and 10 January 2010 to elect the 150 members of the Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan
Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan
The Legislative Chamber is the lower house of the Supreme Assembly, or National Assembly of Uzbekistan. It has 150 members, 135 elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies using the two-round system and 15 elected by the Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan.-Chairpersons of the...
, the lower house of the Oliy Majlis. Of these, 135 were directly elected from single member constituencies using the two-round system
Two-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
, while 15 seats were reserved for the country's Ecological Movement
Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan
The Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan is a political party and environmental movement in Uzbekistan. It was founded on 2 August 2008, and registered as a political party with the Ministry of Justice the following 20 September....
. Provincial
Provinces of Uzbekistan
|Uzbekistan is divided into 12 provinces , 1 autonomous republic , and 1 independent city |Uzbekistan is divided into 12 provinces (viloyatlar, singular viloyat, viloyati in compound, e.g. Toshkent viloyati, Samarqand viloyati), 1 autonomous republic (respublika, respublikasi in compound, e.g....
and district
Districts of Uzbekistan
The provinces of Uzbekistan are divided into districts . The districts are listed by province, in the general direction from west to east. Names often transliterated from Russian....
councils were elected at the same time. Polls opened at 6 am Uzbekistan Time
Uzbekistan Time
Uzbekistan Time is the standard time in Uzbekistan it is 5 hours ahead of UTC, UTC+05:00. The standard time uses no daylight saving time, though there has been constant debate whether to adopt it in order to increase leisure time....
(0100 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
) and closed at 8 pm UZT (1500 UTC).
The Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party
Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party
The Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party is a political party in Uzbekistan, and is considered a center-left party. During the 2004-2005 legislative election, the party won 41 out of 120 seats, and in the Uzbekistani parliamentary election, 2009–2010, it won 55 out of 150.The party said on 4...
(O'zlidep) was reconfirmed as the largest single party in the Legislative Chamber, with 55 deputies. The other parties permitted to participate in the elections were the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan
People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan
The People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan is a political party in Uzbekistan which was founded in October 1991 after the Communist Party of Uzbekistan voted to cut its ties with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and change its name to PDPU...
(32 deputies), the Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party
Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party
The Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party is a political party in Uzbekistan. The party is one of the country's four 'officially sanctioned' parties along with the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party and the Justice Social Democratic...
(Milliy Tiklanish, 31 deputies) and the Justice Social Democratic Party
Justice Social Democratic Party
The Justice Social Democratic Party is a Centre-left, social democratic, political party in Uzbekistan. One of the founders and the first general secretary of the party was Anvar Juraboev...
(Adolat, 19 deputies).
The elections were monitored by over 270 observers from 36 countries and representatives of four international missions. The election monitoring arm of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) did not send a full mission, saying none of its earlier recommendations had been implemented: an OSCE assessment mission observed voting at several polling places, but did not do comprehensive vote monitoring. Veronica Szente Goldston, Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
Advocacy Director for Europe and Central Asia, said the pre-election situation in Uzbekistan has been marked by intense repression by the government: "Human rights are violated everywhere around the country, there is no political competition, all the parties that are running for this election are supporting the government."
Campaign
A candidate for election had to belong to a registered party and collect a minimum of 40,000 signatures. Several opposition politicians have alleged that all candidates also had to be approved by the government before they would be placed on the ballot. The four registered parties were:- Adolat (Justice Social Democratic PartyJustice Social Democratic PartyThe Justice Social Democratic Party is a Centre-left, social democratic, political party in Uzbekistan. One of the founders and the first general secretary of the party was Anvar Juraboev...
), with 123 candidates and 10 seats in the outgoing legislative chamber; - Milliy Tiklanish (Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic PartyUzbekistan National Revival Democratic PartyThe Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party is a political party in Uzbekistan. The party is one of the country's four 'officially sanctioned' parties along with the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party and the Justice Social Democratic...
), with 125 candidates and 29 seats in the outgoing legislative chamber; - People's Democratic Party of UzbekistanPeople's Democratic Party of UzbekistanThe People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan is a political party in Uzbekistan which was founded in October 1991 after the Communist Party of Uzbekistan voted to cut its ties with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and change its name to PDPU...
(PDP), with 134 candidates and 28 seats in the outgoing legislative chamber; - Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic PartyUzbekistan Liberal Democratic PartyThe Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party is a political party in Uzbekistan, and is considered a center-left party. During the 2004-2005 legislative election, the party won 41 out of 120 seats, and in the Uzbekistani parliamentary election, 2009–2010, it won 55 out of 150.The party said on 4...
(O'zlidep), with 135 candidates and 41 seats in the outgoing legislative chamber.
The election campaign consisted of 15- to 20-minute television programs each day for four days, as well as a second program called "Election – Mirror of Democracy". Transcripts from these shows were reprinted in newspapers, and billboards also appeared touting the upcoming choice that Uzbeks had to make. The four parties have publicly criticized each other, mainly over social policy, while praising President
President of Uzbekistan
President of the Republic of Uzbekistan is the Head of State and executive authority in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The office of President was established in 1991 replacing the position of First secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan that has existed since 1925 while the country was known...
Islam Karimov's achievements. Freedom House
Freedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
, a US-based human rights organization, says the discussions appeared on television for the first time, which was a positive development, but that "We have some evidence from Uzbek activists that those debates were scripted. And even if not – these parties don't know themselves who they are, they have no ideology."
Ecological Movement
The Ecological Movement of UzbekistanEcological Movement of Uzbekistan
The Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan is a political party and environmental movement in Uzbekistan. It was founded on 2 August 2008, and registered as a political party with the Ministry of Justice the following 20 September....
elected its 15 legislators at a congress, also held on 27 December, one from each territorial subdivision of Uzbekistan (Republic of Karakalpakstan, provinces
Provinces of Uzbekistan
|Uzbekistan is divided into 12 provinces , 1 autonomous republic , and 1 independent city |Uzbekistan is divided into 12 provinces (viloyatlar, singular viloyat, viloyati in compound, e.g. Toshkent viloyati, Samarqand viloyati), 1 autonomous republic (respublika, respublikasi in compound, e.g....
and Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
city) plus one member from the Executive Committee of the Central Council of the Ecological Movement. Delegates to the congress were elected in equal numbers at the conferences of each of the territorial branches of the Ecological Movement.
Turnout
There were 17,215,700 eligible voters for the 2009 parliamentary elections. By 1 pm UZT (0800 UTC), 57.3% (9,879,195 voters) had cast their vote, ensuring that the election would be valid under Uzbekistani election law (33% minimum turnout required). By 5 pm UZT (1200 UTC), 79.4% (13,670,387 voters) had cast their votes. Final turnout for the first round (based on provisional figures) was 87.8% (15,108,950 voters).On 24 December, all 16 million mobile phone users in Uzbekistan received an SMS informing them of the forthcoming elections. According to an Uzbek living in exile in the United States, "there are certain groups of the population which are under pressure and they are compelled to participate in the election – students, teachers, government employees."
For the second round on 10 January 2010, the electorate was 4,969,547. Of these, 16.3% (812,502 voters) were reported to have voted by 9 am UZT (0300 UTC), just three hours after polling stations had opened. The final turnout (based on provisional figures) when polls closed at 8 pm UZT (1500 UTC) was 79.7% (3,960,876 voters).