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SCO to send observers to monitor presidential elections in Uzbekistan

BEIJING, November 9. /TASS/. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will send a large delegation to monitor the upcoming presidential elections in Uzbekistan, the SCO General Secretary Rashid Alimov told TASS on Wednesday.

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"The mission has been almost formed, it comprises members of parliaments, representatives of central and regional election commissions, officials of the SCO states’ foreign ministries and other governmental bodies as well as members of the SCO Secretariat," he elaborated.

"The mission will be headed by the SCO Secretary General," Alimov added. According to him, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization received Uzbekistan’s Central Election Commission’s invitation in September.

"Although this is a short-term mission and the first group of observers will arrive in Uzbekistan one week ahead of the elections, we have already started to assess Uzbekistan’s electoral legislation and monitor the country’s media in order to ensure that the election process is covered appropriately and the voters are getting all the necessary information," the SCO Secretary General said. "Our assessments show that the election campaign has been widely covered by the media in accordance with Uzbekistan’s electoral legislation." "The presidential candidates have been provided with equal opportunities to campaign. Information clips have been regularly broadcasted on radio and TV which means the voters have all the information so that they can make a choice," Alimov noted.

The SCO Secretariat has hosted a round-table dubbed "Presidential elections in Uzbekistan in the context of the country’s development." According to Rashid Alimov, "there had been an interesting exchange of views though life is always more interesting and diverse than any assessments.".

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