Election organizers must be familiar with the laws and be able to work in accordance with them. This should be facilitated, among other things, by the National Action Program prepared by the Uzbek parliament to improve the electoral culture of the population. The main thing is their striving for the growth of professionalism in the conduct of elections, serving the law in accordance with its meaning and content.
In general, all these "three steps" of democratization of electoral legislation and practice in New Uzbekistan, together with the large-scale and dynamic processes of political, economic, legal, social and spiritual renewal of society and modernization of the country being carried out in the country, lead to:
first, the significant development and strengthening of a real multi-party system in the country. A healthy inter-party competition has been created in the country with equal conditions for all parties to conduct an election campaign, fair distribution of budget funds allocated for the preparation and conduct of elections, fairness of voting and legitimacy of elections. In other words, there is every reason to assert that the upcoming presidential elections will be held in a multi-party system, competition of candidates, openness, freedom of opinion and genuine choice;
secondly, expanding the role and opportunities for participation in elections of civil society institutions, volunteers, a significant increase in the level of political, public activity, civic responsibility of people, exactingness and exactingness of citizens in assessing the progress of socio-economic and political and legal reforms;
third, the creation in Uzbekistan of all the necessary legal conditions for parties and representatives of non-governmental non-profit organizations, local and foreign observers, the media for the exercise of their rights and obligations during the election campaign;
fourth, expanding the use of digital technologies in the electoral process and their legal regulation;
fifth, the coronavirus pandemic has made a difference in every aspect of human life. In a number of countries, elections were canceled or postponed. Now the elections are being held in new conditions, for the first time people are admitted to polling stations strictly wearing masks using an antiseptic. In organizing the electoral process in a pandemic, attention should be paid to the following aspects. The first is aimed at the general organization of elections. These are measures related to premises, non-contact thermometry, flow regulation, social distance, mask mode, use of sanitizers. The second concerns the requirements for voters, in particular, the mandatory wearing of a mask, the use of antiseptics, and distance. Third, the participants in the electoral process, who will be present at the polling stations permanently on election day, are members of election commissions, observers, and proxies.
Elections are indeed turning into effective mechanisms for the formation of state power, ensuring its continuity and political stability.
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The above are excerpts from an article contributed by Akmal Saidov First Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis (Parliament) of
Uzbekistan for publication. -Ed.
