Citizens of Uzbekistan abroad will be able to fully realize their suffrage
On December 22, 2019, Uzbekistan will hold elections for deputies of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan and deputies of local Kengashes.
Article 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan stipulates that citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan have the right to participate in the management of the affairs of society and the state, both directly and through their representatives. This right applies to every citizen of Uzbekistan regardless of his place of residence or location.
As you know, today many of our compatriots live abroad for family reasons, work, study or for treatment.
Previously, only citizens on the list of our country’s consular posts abroad were included in the list of foreign voters. This meant that many of our compatriots, who were away from their homeland on election day, did not have the opportunity to participate in the voting process.
For example, in the parliamentary elections of 2014, 13 thousand 280 citizens were included in the voters list.
At the current elections, all the necessary conditions will be created for the participation of all citizens of Uzbekistan living abroad.
In order to realize the constitutional rights of citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan living abroad, the Central Election Commission has developed and approved the corresponding provision.
So, for the first time, the Regulation on the procedure for the formation of polling stations at diplomatic missions and consular offices of the Republic of Uzbekistan in foreign countries was developed.
The provision stipulates that the Central Election Commission, in agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, assigns polling stations abroad to the respective constituencies in elections to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Previously, in elections to the Legislative Chamber, polling stations abroad were assigned to the constituency in the territory where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is located. This may lead to a violation of the rule that when forming constituencies, the maximum allowable deviation of the number of voters in constituencies should not exceed ten percent. Therefore, the consolidation of foreign polling stations in one district was considered inappropriate.
According to the new regulation, the list of voters at polling stations abroad is formed on the basis of data provided by the heads of these institutions.
Citizens can apply in writing to be included in the voters list at the precinct election commission abroad. In addition, they can submit an application to the precinct election commission abroad in electronic form for inclusion in the voters list at least fifteen days before the election through the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.At present, the option “electronic registration” of voters is already open on this resource. It is available in Uzbek and Russian. Those wishing to receive registration must fill out a questionnaire, indicating their last name, first name and patronymic, date and place of birth, passport number and series, address of residence in a foreign country and Uzbekistan, indicate the diplomatic mission in which the citizen is going to vote, and the current phone number. Upon filling out the questionnaire, the user receives a personal identification number of an individual.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in turn, provides generalized information about the amendments to the voters list to the State Personalization Center under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan to make appropriate adjustments to the Unified Electronic Voter List, that is, the entry “citizen voted abroad” is made. In this case, it is necessary to adhere to the principle of “one voter – one vote”.
Diplomatic missions and consular posts through the media or in another way notify citizens living abroad of a polling station abroad, the timing and procedure for including citizens living outside the Republic of Uzbekistan in the voters list of the corresponding polling station, days of early voting and the day of election.
In order to create additional amenities for citizens, some types of voting are summarized in the electoral law. So, in the densely populated places of residence of voters, the precinct election commission abroad can organize early voting at the place of residence of voters.
Early voting in densely populated places or places of work of voters is carried out in the presence of at least two members of the precinct election commission abroad, and an act is drawn up about this.
The new rules introduced in accordance with the regulation will create a solid legal basis for the implementation of the constitutional law of our compatriots living abroad temporarily or on a permanent basis.
